My little brother
by EvanlynDurin00
Summary: Kol manages to get himself turned into a 5-year old. While his siblings aren't exactly happy about it, the situation causes them to see themselves through their brother's eyes. Will this be their chance to make it up to Kol and include him in their always and forever?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N This is my first fanfic ever so I hope you'll like it. Constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated. Keep in mind that English is not my native English and I don't have a Beta yet.**

 **Disclaimer: If I owned the Vampire Diaries, Kol wouldn't have died in season four.**

It was 3 am when Kol finally made it home. He felt perfectly awful. He just wanted to go to bed and sleep it off. Of course, when he stumbled inside, he walked straight into Klaus. 'Well, look who's home. Had fun?'

Kol grumbled something unintelligible and walked past his brother.

'Where are you going?' 'I'm going to bed so leave me alone Nik. My head is bloody killing me.'

Kol continued to walk to his room. Klaus shrugged and walked into the living room. As soon as Kol made it to his room he kicked his shoes off and crawled into bed. When he closed his eyes, darkness welcomed him.

The next morning found Finn, Elijah and Klaus in the kitchen. Finn was reading the paper, Elijah was drinking coffee and Klaus was sketching with a glass of blood next to him. 30 minutes later, Rebekah walked in wearing jeans and a blue sweater, her blond hair in a ponytail.

'Morning everyone!' She grabbed a cup of coffee and sat down next to Elijah.

Elijah looked at his watch and then at Rebekah.

'Shouldn't you be leaving for school?' 'No, Matt just texted me. The teacher is sick so I don't start until second period.'

Elijah nodded and returned to his coffee.

'Has Kol left already? I didn't get a response when I stopped by his room earlier.'

Elijah frowned. 'As far as I know he's still home. Don't you have the same class?'

'No, Kol picked chemistry while I picked history. So he should be at school now.'

Finn looked up from the paper briefly.

'He hasn't left for school. I believe he's still sleeping.'

Rebekah sighed. 'I suppose none of you has seen him come home last night?'

Klaus finally looked up from his sketchbook. 'I saw him stumbling in this morning at 3 'o clock. He didn't look to good and said his head was killing him.'

Elijah pinched the bridge of his nose. 'Niklaus, why didn't you tell us?'

Klaus shrugged. 'I thought he was just having a hangover. It wouldn't be the first time.'

Finn looked up again. 'While I agree with Niklaus, something could actually have happened to Kol. With the Salvatores and their friends trying to kill us, we should be extra careful.'

Rebekah stood up. 'I'll go check on him. Finn just got me worried.'

She walked out of the kitchen. 5 minutes later, a scream could be heard from upstairs. The brothers immediately sped upstairs. Rebekah was standing in Kol's room, eyes wide. Klaus was the first to reach here.

'What's wrong Rebekah?'

Wordlessly, Rebekah pointed to the bed. Klaus walked towards the bed. Kol's shoes were lying on the ground, next to his jacket. On the bed, curled up under the covers, Klaus could see a sleeping form. He frowned. Was it just him or did Kol look smaller? Just as Klaus reached the bed, Kol turned around.

'Bloody hell!' Klaus shouted, as he stumbled backwards and tripped over Kol's shoes.

'What's wrong Niklaus?' Elijah asked.

'H-h-he…he is 5 years old!'


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N First of all, thanks for the kind reviews! It really made my day. Here is the second chapter, I hope that it is good and that you like it. As I've said before, please keep in mind that English is not my native language, so please forgive my spelling/grammar mistakes. If I keep recieving positive reviews I will try to post a new chapter every week. Constructive criticism and suggestions are welcome.**

 **Disclaimer: Sadly I don't the Vampire Diaries. Wish I did though.**

Chapter 2

Elijah walked into the room. 'Surely this must be some sort of prank Kol is pulling on us. He can't possibly be five years old.' Klaus shot up and started shouting. 'Kol, you better get here now or I swear I'm going to bloody kill you! This is not funny!'  
Suddenly a soft whimper could be heard in the room. Elijah walked over to the bed. Brown almond shaped eyes looked at him fearfully. The little boy had curled into himself, clearly frightened by Klaus' shouting. Tears were coursing down his cheeks.  
Elijah recognised the eyes and the soft brown hair. 'Niklaus, stop your shouting, you're frightening Kol.' Klaus stood next to Elijah. 'This can't possibly be Kol. How can he be five years old again?' Elijah frowned. 'I do not know, Niklaus. But this child surely looks a lot like our brother.' Said boy had backed up to the other side of the bed, way too close to the edge. Rebekah was the first to see the danger. 'Watch out, he is going to…' A loud thump and cry of pain could be heard.

Rebekah quickly sped to the other side of the bed. But when she tried to comfort the boy, he only crawled away, fear still clear in his eyes. 'There's no need to be scared, I'm not going to hurt you.' It didn't help. The boy started to sob and curled into himself again. 'Great,' Klaus said. 'What are we going to do now?'  
'You could start with not scaring him, Nik.' 'Fine! But how do we know if this boy is Kol?'  
Elijah frowned. 'If he really is five years old, he should have a scar on his arm, from that incident with the fire.'  
Rebekah crouched down in front of the boy. He was wearing Kol's shirt and it was clearly too big on him. It was hard to have a good look at the boy, but eventually she saw the scar Elijah spoke of.' She stood up again and looked at her brothers. 'It's Kol, he has the scar on his arm.' Klaus sighed. 'Great! How did the bloody idiot even manage to turn into a child?'  
Elijah walked over to the boy and crouched down in front of him. 'Kol, you don't have to be afraid. You're safe here.' The boy shook his head. 'I want Lijah.' He sobbed. Elijah opened his arms. 'Kol, look at me. I'm Elijah.'  
Kol looked up curious, his pain forgotten. 'You can't be Lijah. You're as big as father.' 'Well, I grew a lot. I promise it's me, okay?'  
Kol continued to stare at him for another minute before deciding that he believed Elijah. He then crawled over to Elijah and reached his arms out. Elijah and Rebekah stared at him with incomprehension. 'What does he want?' Rebekah asked. 'It seems he wants Elijah to lift him up and carry him.' Finn suddenly spoke up. Klaus turned around to look at Finn. 'Since when do you care about Kol? Or any of us for that matter.' 'I never said that, I simply told you what he wants. Now, good luck with this problem. I have an appointment with Sage.' With that Finn left the room.  
Rebekah nudged Elijah. 'We know what he wants know so what are you waiting for?' Elijah sighed and picked Kol up from the floor. Kol made himself comfortable in Elijah's arms and looked at up him.

When they all got downstairs, they sat down in the living room. 'Typically Finn, leaves us to deal with this problem while he enjoys himself with his girlfriend.' Klaus grumbled. 'It's not like he would be of any help, Nik.'  
Elijah pinched the bridge of his nose. 'Would you please focus? We have more important matters at hand. First, we need to know how this happened.' He put Kol down on the floor and looked at him. 'Kol, what is the last thing you remember?'  
The little boy scrunched up his nose while thinking deeply. 'Ehm…I was real sleepy and my head really hurt. Then I woke up because he,' Kol pointed at Klaus. 'Was shouting and scared me.'  
'You don't remember who did this?' 'Did what?'  
'Never mind. Does your head still hurt?' No. Lijah, where are Nik and Bekah? I wanna play.'  
Elijah picked Kol up and placed him in his lap again. He then pointed at Klaus and Rebekah. 'See them? They are Niklaus and Rebekah.' 'Nuhuh. Bekah can't be bigger than me and Nik isn't that mean.'  
Rebekah chuckled. 'It's true Kol.'  
Kol's eyes widened in disbelief. 'What happened to you? Where you cursed?'  
'Well actually,' Klaus piped up. 'It is you who seems to be cursed. See, for some reason, you turned five again and we don't know how.' Kol seemed to think about that for a minute. Then he looked back at Elijah. 'I'm hungry.' He announced.  
'Right, we're gonna need some things. We're going to need food and some fitting clothes.' Rebekah said.  
'I'll get the food.' Elijah said. 'Then I'll get the clothes.'  
Klaus stood up. 'Well, since you don't need me, I'm going back to my sketchbook.'  
'Hold on, Nik. Who said you didn't have to do anything?' 'What do you need me to do then? It seems you and Elijah have everything under control.'  
Elijah stood up as well, Kol in his arms. 'We need you to watch our brother, Niklaus. We'll be back in an hour or so. Please try not to destroy the house.' Before Klaus could protest, Elijah had put Kol in Klaus' arms and left the house. Rebekah smiled and left as well. 'Good luck, Nik!'  
Klaus looked down at Kol, who was looking at him curiously. He felt panic rising up in him but shook it off quickly. He smiled at Kol who was beginning to squirm. 'You're five years old and I suppose you're human. I'm a thousand years old, immortal hybrid. What could possibly go wrong?'


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N Hi everyone. Thank you so much for the kind reviews again! I hope you all like this chapter as well. If you have any ideas for the plot or things you would love to see, please let me know in a review or a PM. As always, please keep in mind that English is not my native language.**

 **Disclaimer: I only own the spelling and/or grammar mistakes. It would be great if I actually owned the Vampire Diaries though.**

Chapter 3:

Rebekah hummed to herself as she parked the car. The shopping had been a lot more fun than she expected. She had found some really cute clothes. As she stepped out of the car, Elijah arrived.

'I take it the shopping went well?'

'Yes and I see the groceries went good as well?'

Arms full with bags they walked up to the house. Elijah opened the door and walked inside with Rebekah behind him. When he walked into the kitchen, he dropped the bags.

'Elijah! What's wrong?'

'I suggest you look for yourself, sister.'

Rebekah stepped into the kitchen as well and her mouth dropped open. 'What the bloody hell happened here?'

The whole kitchen was covered in flour and next to the counter was a pool of blood.

'Please tell me that isn't Kol's blood.' Rebekah whispered.

Suddenly a crash could be heard from the living room, followed by Klaus' voice.

'KOL!' he shouted. 'I bloody swear, when I find you…'

Both Elijah and Rebekah flashed over the other room. The living room was one big mess. Chairs and couches were turned upside down, paintbrushes were lying everywhere and the walls were covered with blue paint dots. Klaus was standing next to a turned over table, his back towards his two siblings.

'Niklaus,' Elijah asked. 'What happened here? Where is Kol?'

Klaus turned around and Rebekah promptly started laughing. Klaus' blond hair was white with flour, while his face was full of blue paint spots, as where his clothes. On his pants was some blood and on top of all, he was soaking wet.

'It's not funny, Rebekah. When I find that boy I'm going to bloody kill him.'

Elijah frowned. 'What happened, Niklaus? Did Kol do this?'

'Yes, this was all Kol's doing.'

'And would you be so polite as to tell us what exactly happened here?'

 **Earlier**

Klaus looked down at Kol, who was looking at him curiously. He felt panic rising up but shook it off quickly. He smiled at Kol who was beginning to squirm.

'You're five years old and I suppose you're human. I'm a thousand years old, immortal hybrid. What could possibly go wrong?'

'Nik?' The little boy asked.

'Yes, Kol?'

'I'm hungry.' Kol announced.

Klaus frowned. If Kol was really human, which seemed to be the case, then he obviously couldn't give him any blood. The problem with that was, as far as Klaus knew, they had no human food in the house. Which was why Elijah went to do groceries after all.

'You'll have to wait until Elijah gets back. Then you can eat.'

'But I'm hungry now.' Kol whined.

'Kol,' Klaus began sternly. 'You'll have to wait until Elijah gets home.'

Kol lower lip began to tremble and his eyes filled with tears. Then he began crying. Klaus immediately put him down as the sound assaulted his highly sensitive hearing. He then started to look for human food, there had to be something. Eventually he found two bags, one filled with sugar and another filled with flour. He put both bags on the table and then placed Kol on a chair next to the table.

'There you go, take your pick. But please stop that awful sound.'

Kol immediately stopped crying and studied both bags. Eventually he grabbed the bag full of sugar and stuffed as much in his mouth as he could. Klaus sighed relieved and grabbed a glass from a cupboard and a blood bag out of the refrigerator. He filled the glass and was just about to take a sip when he was hit by something in the head. He turned around just in time to see Kol throw another hand full of flour at him.

'You have got to be bloody joking.'

Kol himself was already completely covered with flour and was giggling. His eyes were wide and wild. Klaus winced as he remembered mayor Lockwood saying something about sugar making children hyper. Kol was definitely one of those children.

'Kol, stop that.'

Klaus lifted the boy out of the chair and placed him next to the counter.

'Stay right there Kol. I'm going to need some water to clean us both up and then I really need that drink.'

As Klaus turned on the faucet, there was crash behind him. Kol was standing next to a pool of blood and shatters of glass.

'Kol! Why did you do that?'

'I-I'm sorry.' The child stuttered.

Klaus felt his control slip away. He never was a very patient person. He breathed deeply and counted to ten.

'Just stay there and don't touch anything else. And I suggest that you don't push my patience any further.'

'Nik?'

Klaus sighed. 'Yes, Kol?'

'Whose blood is this? Where you going to drink it?' Kol voice was full of panic and fear but Klaus didn't hear that.

'Yes Kol, in fact I was.'

Kol's eyes went wide with disbelief. 'Y-y-you…t-t-that…you're not Nik!'

Klaus rolled his eyes and stalked towards his brother. He was very close to losing his control. Kol brought his hands up in defence and suddenly both Kol and Klaus were hit by a huge amount of water.

Klaus growled. His eyes turned amber, black veins became visible and his fangs came out.

'Kol, when I get my hands on you…'

Kol's eyes went wide with fear and tears started pooling in them. 'Demon!' He screeched.

Then, he ran towards the living room, hoping to find a place to hide. However, when he arrived in the room, he ran straight into Klaus. Kol squeaked with fear and tried to run away again. Unfortunately, Klaus was faster and grabbed him from behind, spinning him around. Kol tried to back away and brought his hands up again. To his immense surprise, the paintbrushes in the room went up in the air. He waved his hands to Klaus, who suddenly found himself faced with his own paintbrushes.

'And when the attack finally stopped, Kol was gone.'

While telling the story, Klaus had calmed down a lot. Elijah and Rebekah, however, were fuming. Rebekah would have pounced on Klaus, hadn't Elijah stopped her.

'Niklaus, you do realise there is quite the difference between a thousand years old Kol and a five year old Kol? Rebekah, please calm down. I suggest you go look for Kol while I talk to Niklaus.'

Suddenly, something barrelled straight into Elijah.

'You can't trust him 'Lijah! He's a demon.' Kol sobbed.

Rebekah glared daggers at Klaus and scooped Kol up in her arms. He buried his head in her chest and cried unconsolably. His body shook with tremors. Suddenly, a strong wind was blowing outside, rain was crashing against the windows and thunder could be heard. The three Mikaelsons all looked in shock at each other and then at the little boy.

'Bloody hell! We completely forgot! He's a warlock!' Klaus shouted.

Rebekah rubbed circles on Kol's back, trying to calm her twin brother down.

'Hush Kol, it's alright. You're safe, there are no demons here.'

After five more minutes, Kol finally calmed down. The poor boy was so exhausted from the whole ordeal that he immediately fell asleep in Rebekah's arms.

'I'll put him to bed.' She said, walking to the kitchen to grab one of the shopping bags in which she had put the pyjama's.

Upstairs, she entered Kol's room and quickly changed him into some plain blue pyjama's. She scowled at the way too big short that Kol had been wearing the whole time. It was completely ruined so she threw it into the trashcan. Rebekah then put Kol down in his bed and pulled the covers over him. She smiled. She had completely forgotten how innocent her twin had been as a child. It made her realise once again that they hadn't always been monsters.

When she got downstairs, her brothers had managed to clean up the living room a bit. At least they could sit down now, which they did.

Klaus looked at both of his siblings. They obviously were angry with him and he had to admit, though he would never say it out loud, they were right. He felt a flash of guilt as he remembered the frightened look in Kol's eyes.

'Niklaus, I don't understand that you lost your control and I certainly don't approve of it. You've completely lost Kol's trust now so we have to be very careful in what we do. But we have an more impressing matter at hand. We all saw how strongly Kol's magic already is at this age. And how even nature reacted on his emotions. He has to learn some control.'

'And how did you expect to do that? Know of any magic schools we can send him to?' Klaus scoffed.

'No, but there are enough witches we could contact. And I am certain a lot of Kol's witches would be willing to help.'

'Fine,' Klaus growled. 'I'll see what I can do.'

 **A/N Again, please review! Hope you liked the chapter.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N Hi everyone. I finished this chapter earlier than I expected so that's why I'm posting it now, instead of tomorrow.  
Aktionslos: Thank you very much, I hope you'll like this chapter as well. I have already answered your questions in PM, so I hope you don't mind that I won't answer them here as well.  
Manon's Dragon: Glad you like it.  
Katerniapevrna: Thank you.  
Sing97: Thank you, hope you like this chapter as well.  
As always, please keep in mind that English is not my native language. If you have any question/suggestions, please let me know through PM or review. Enjoy!**

Disclaimer: Still don't own the Vampire Diaries and probably never will.

While Klaus left to find someone who could help them with Kol's magic, Elijah grabbed the bags and put them back in the hallway. Then he returned to the living room where Rebekah was looking at the mess. She sighed and turned to Elijah.

'I suppose we have to clean this up?'

'I think that would be necessary. We can't live in this kind of mess.'

Rebekah huffed. 'Well let's get started then, shall we?'

They were just finishing the kitchen when Finn walked in.

'What happened here?'

'Nik and Kol happened. Nik thought it would be a good idea to give Kol sugar and show his fangs.'

Finn rose one eyebrow and then started to walk back to the door.

'Where are you going?'

'I'm leaving.'

Rebekah sped over and blocked his pad. 'No you're not. You can choose. Either you go to Kol to wake him up and take care of him or you can help Elijah clean up the living room and I take care of Kol.'

Finn sighed. 'Fine, I'll help Elijah clean up.'

Rebekah smiled and disappeared upstairs. After 30 minutes Elijah and Finn had cleaned up the living room. Elijah sat down on a couch and Finn walked to the kitchen to grab a glass of blood.

'Finn, I suggest you drink that before Kol comes upstairs. He already believes Niklaus is a demon so if he sees you drink blood as well, he'll probably have another episode. And I didn't really fancy his last one so please make sure he doesn't see it.'

'What kind of episode?'

'I assume you remember that Kol was a warlock before we were turned?'

'Yes, I remember. I believe he was five years old when he discovered it.'

'Well, he's quite a lot stronger than one might suspect from a five year old. I'm sure you noticed the storm that only lasted a couple of minutes?'

'Yes I noticed. That was nature reacting to Kol's emotions?'

'Indeed. Niklaus has frightened him greatly. It took some time before Rebekah finally managed to calm Kol down.'

Finn downed his glass quickly and walked back to the kitchen to put it in the sink. Just as he returned to the couch, Kol came running downstairs and straight into the living room. He was dressed in a pair of jeans and a green shirt with white stripes. His brown eyes were twinkling with joy and his soft brown hair fell on his shoulders. Rebekah appeared in the doorway a few seconds later. Kol looked around the room and a huge smile appeared on his face when he spotted his oldest brother.

'Finn!' He shouted and ran over to his brother.

Kol quickly climbed on Finn's lap and gave him a big hug. Everybody in the room froze, except for Kol. Kol and Finn weren't exactly on the best of terms as vampires. None of them had expected Kol to react this way. After a few seconds Kol looked up at Finn in surprise.

'Finn? No hug?'

Finn shook his head and put Kol back on the ground. 'No hug, Kol. Go ask Elijah.'

Disappointment and hurt appeared in Kol's eyes. 'Don't you love me?'

Finn looked straight in the boy's eyes. 'No Kol, I don't love you.'

Tears pooled in Kol's eyes and with a sob he ran out of the room. Rebekah strode over to Finn, looking furious.

'Why the bloody hell did you say that?!'

'Because it is the truth.'

'That doesn't give you the right to tell him that! Couldn't you just say that you didn't feel good?'

Elijah decided to intervene. 'Rebekah, calm down. We'll just have to make sure that Kol still trust you and me.'

Rebekah huffed and looked around the room. 'Where did Kol go?'

-TVD-

Caroline Forbes wasn't in the best of moods. She had just been at the Salvatore Boarding House, on request of Elena. There, Elena had told her that she, Bonnie, Stefan and Damon had captured Kol Mikaelson but when Bonnie used a new spell, something went wrong and the Original had escaped.

So now they had to be on the lookout for a very pissed off Kol. Caroline didn't like the fact that her friends, and Damon, had done something dangerous without informing her and Matt. If it had been because Kol had attacked one of them then she could understand. But apparently, Kol had just been walking to the Mystic Grill. Bonnie just needed a vampire to test the spell on and Kol was the easiest because he was distracted.

Suddenly someone ran into her. Caroline stumbled back, surprised.

'Can't you watch where…'

A sob interrupted her. Caroline looked down and saw a little boy who was crying his eyes out. She knelt down. The boy immediately backed away. Caroline felt her heart melt. The child was very cute, with soft brown hair and almond shaped brown eyes.

'Hi there. Don't be afraid, I'm not gonna hurt you.'

She spread her arms out. The boy immediately stumbled into them and wrapped his arms around her neck, burying his head in her shoulder. Sobs wrecked his little body. Caroline stood up and rubbed comforting circles on the child's back.

'Hush, it's okay. You're alright. Tell me what's wrong.'

'H-h-he h-hates me.'

Caroline frowned. 'Who hates you sweetie?'

'M-m-my b-brother. H-h-he s-said h-he didn't love me.'

Caroline hugged the child close to her. 'Sssh, it's alright. I'm sure your brother didn't mean it.'

The boy only cried harder. Suddenly, the sky darkened and it began to rain.

'Great. Let's see if we can find shelter somewhere.'

A truck stopped besides her. The window rolled down and Matt smiled at her. 'Need a ride, Caroline?'

'Yes please! I'm drowning here.'

Matt chuckled and opened the door, the window rolling up again. Caroline quickly got into the car. Matt looked at the child in her arms. 'Who's that?'

'I don't know. He ran into me, crying and saying his brother didn't love him.'

Matt frowned and started the car. Suddenly, the boy stopped crying, fascinated by the car. Caroline noticed it also stopped raining outside. The boy looked at Matt.

'What's this?'

Matt grinned. 'It's a car.'

'Oh. What's a car?'

Both Caroline and Matt looked at the boy. 'You don't know what a car is?' Caroline asked.

'No, but I will if you tell me.'

Matt chuckled and started to explain everything there was to know about cars, the boy clinging to every word. When Matt was done, the boy looked at Matt in awe.

'You're smart! Just as smart as my brother. What's your name?'

'Matt Donovan. And the girl who is holding you is Caroline Forbes. And what's your name?'

The boy smiled charmingly. 'Kol Mikaelson.'

Matt slammed the brakes and Caroline almost choked.

'What?!' They both said.

 **A/N Please review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N Hey everyone! I'm sorry that I haven't updated for a while. Christmas lasts three days in my country and I was very busy. The second week of Christmas break I was ready to write a new chapter but my laptop decided to crash so I lost the entire chapter and the laptop had to be repaired. This week, I could finally write a new chapter and update it so here ya go. I hope you like it. Positive reviews are fuel for me so those are very welcome, as are suggestions.  
As always, please remember that English is not my native language.**

 **Disclaimer: Still don't own the Vampire Diaries.**

Chapter 5

Matt slammed the brakes and Caroline almost choked.

'What?!' They both said.

The child managed to stay upright, even though he shot forward because of the sudden stop. He smiled innocently at them.

'My name is Kol Mikaelson.' He repeated.

Caroline blinked. Well, at least she didn't have to be afraid of Kol seeking revenge. Then she realised something. The other Mikaelsons were probably already aware that their brother had been turned into a toddler and they wouldn't be too happy about it. She turned to Matt.

'Let's drive to my house. We'll figure out the rest there.'

Matt nodded, still speechless. He cast a sideways glance to Kol, who was pointing to everything outside and asking Caroline about it. Matt didn't particularly like Kol since the guy tried to break his hand once. Suddenly Kol turned towards him and smiled. There was something in the boy's eyes that made Matt realise something. This was an innocent Kol, who hadn't hurt anyone in his life on purpose. Could he really hold this Kol accountable for what vampire Kol did? No, he decided. That wouldn't be fair. Matt decided that as long as he was faced with this Kol, he would act neutral.

When they arrived at Caroline's house, they both got out and went inside. Caroline placed Kol on the couch and wanted to grab her phone when Kol said her name. She turned around.

'What is it, Kol?'

The boy looked down at the ground, fumbling with his shirt. 'I was wondering if I could have something to eat. I'm hungry. Pretty please?'

Caroline debated quietly with herself. There would be no harm in giving him some food right? Eventually she decided to grab a few cookies from the kitchen and gave them to Kol. He smiled happily at her.

'Thank you.'

Caroline felt herself smile back at him. Matt walked towards her.

'Why don't you stay with him while I call Elena? She needs to know about this.'

Caroline nodded and sat down next to Kol, while Matt walked to the hallway with his phone.

-TVD-

Rebekah was on the verge of panicking. She and Elijah had turned the house upside down but they still hadn't found Kol. Finn had gone to his room and hadn't lift a finger, of course. Clearly he didn't care that he'd hurt Kol. Rebekah cringed when she remembered the hurt in Kol's eyes. She wondered if vampire Kol felt the same whenever he was pushed away by one of them. Elijah appeared in the room and interrupted her thoughts.

'Rebekah, have you noticed it has started to rain?'

'So what? How is rain supposed to help us find Kol?'

Elijah sighed but managed to keep his composure. 'We have noticed that nature reacts on Kol's emotions. There hasn't been any indication it was going to rain and yet the sky has darkened and it is raining.'

Rebekah's eyes widened in realisation. 'If he was crying we should be able to hear it. But we can't so that means he has gone outside!'

'Exactly. That's why we're going to get in the car and drive towards town.'

Rebekah nodded and they quickly went to the car. Just as they left the driveway, it stopped raining. They were halfway into town when Rebekah's phone rang. She quickly picked up.

'Yes Nik? No, we're on our way to town…yes I know Kol is gone, that's why we left to search for him…Finn happened…yes help would be nice…alright, we'll meet you there.'

Rebekah hang up and put the phone away.

'That was Nik. He wants us to meet him at the Mystic Grill. He says he's found something.'

-TVD-

Caroline was introducing Kol to the TV when the doorbell rang. She stood up but Matt was already answering the door. A few minutes later Damon, Stefan, Bonnie and Elena appeared in the living room, staring at the couch dumbfounded. Damon was the first to find his voice again.

'So, that's Kol Mikaelson? Well Bon-Bon, at least we know what went wrong with your spell.'

Bonnie scowled at him. 'This wasn't supposed to happen. It can't have happened. I didn't use such a spell.'

'Well apparently, if you mess up that spell, you turn an Original into a child.'

Elena studied the boy on the couch. He wasn't paying any attention to the bickering that occurred, or the fact that he'd gathered quite an audience. Suddenly, the boy looked straight at her. She felt her heart melt at the sight. The child was so cute, especially when he smiled shyly at her.

Damon and Bonnie finally quit bickering and turned their attention back towards Kol. The boy backed up a little when he met Damon's hateful stare. Caroline noticed and stood between them.

'Cut that out Damon. You can't threaten a little boy.'

Damon huffed. 'You can hardly call him a little boy. It's Kol Mikaelson, the guy who tried to break Donovan's hand!'

'Well, you're not going to hurt him. I won't let you.'

Stefan intervened. 'Damon, we're not going to hurt him, Caroline, calm down. Look, I know Kol isn't exactly our friend. But I agree with Matt, we can't hold this Kol accountable for what he did as a vampire. I have an idea.'

'Please tell us, Saint Stefan.'

Stefan sighed. 'The other Mikaelsons are probably already aware of what happened to Kol. We could use him as a bargaining chip. They get him, we get the White Oak stakes.'

Damon smiled. 'That's a great idea Stef. I'll call Klaus.'

Suddenly Elena piped up. 'He looks a lot like Elijah, doesn't he?'

-TVD-

Rebekah and Elijah stood outside the Mystic Grill when Klaus appeared. He looked annoyed.

'So, it appears that Kol was going to the Grill yesterday evening. Problem is, he never arrived. Apparently, he was passing an alleyway when he was jumped and taken. I suspect that it has something to do with the Salvatores and the doppelgänger.'

Rebekah frowned. 'How is this going to help us to find Kol?'

'Well, now we know who did this to him so we have an idea who we have to threaten.'

Elijah opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by Klaus' cell phone ringing. Klaus scowled at the caller ID but picked up.

'Damon Salvatore, what do you want?'

 _'_ _Well Klaus, I wondered if you are aware of what happened to your psycho brother.'_

Rebekah snatched the phone out of Klaus' hand.

'Damon, if you hurt even a single hair on his head I won't hesitate to kill you.'

' _Relax She Devil, I won't hurt your brother if you give me what I want._ '

Rebekah scowled. 'And what would that be?'

' _The White Oak Stakes of course. Bring them to Caroline's house within an hour and your brother will be returned to you. Agree?'_

Klaus snatched the phone back. 'Fine Salvatore, we have a deal.'

He hung up and put the phone back in his pocket. Rebekah looked at him with a surprised look. 'Are you seriously going to give them the only things on this planet that can kill us?'

Klaus smirked. 'Please Bekah, you should know me better than that.'


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N Hey everyone! I'm sorry that I'm not able to update weekly, like I promised but I'm in my final year of High School (although we call it different here) and it's just really stressing me out, with lots of homework and important projects I have to finish. I want to thank everyone for the kind reviews because they're really helping me out. Please check the A/N at the bottom too, it's very important to me. As always, please keep in mind that English is not my native language. Hope you enjoy the new chapter and if you have any questions or requests, just let me know in a review or a PM.**

 **Disclaimer: If I owned the Vampire Diaries, I wouldn't have to write fanfiction (though I love doing it!).**

Chapter 6

Klaus herded both of his siblings into the car and drove off. Rebekah leant forward from the backseat.

'Where are we going? I'm pretty sure you're going the wrong way, Nik.'

'Trust me Rebekah, I know where we're going. You want Kol back, don't you?'

'Of course I do!'

'Then be silent for now and let me focus on the driving.'

Rebekah huffed but did as she was told. Soon, they had left Mystic Falls behind. Elijah looked out of the window and then at his brother. He knew that Niklaus cared about Kol, even though he didn't want to admit it.

After 15 minutes of driving, Klaus suddenly stopped. Rebekah looked around. The car was surrounded by trees. She frowned and followed her brothers who had already stepped out of the car.

'Where are we?'

Klaus smiled. 'It appears that our brother has foreseen this situation.'

Both Elijah and Rebekah looked at him questionably. Klaus walked over to one of the trees and studied the ground it stood on. Suddenly, he pulled a bush out of the ground and revealed a wooden trapdoor. He pushed it open and grabbed something out of it, closing it after him. He turned to his siblings, revealing a bag in his hand.

'What's that?' Rebekah asked.

'These, sister, are twelve exact copies of the White Oak Stakes. And I'm going to give these to Damon Salvatore, in exchange for Kol.'

'I don't see what this has to do with my twin.'

'Get in the car, I'll explain during the ride.'

Once they were driving, Klaus started to talk.

'A few weeks ago, I saw Kol sneaking out of the house with this exact bag. I decided to follow him, because I was bored. I followed him all the way to here and saw him hiding the bag in the space under the trapdoor. Once he went back to his car, I opened the door and looked in the bag. And thus I found out, Kol had somehow made twelve exact copies of the White Oak Stakes.'

Elijah frowned. 'Is that even possible?'

'It is now brother. You can ask Kol how he did it when he's normal again.'

-TVD-TVD-TVD-

Caroline was looking at Kol, who was sitting perfectly still on the couch, his thoughts clearly elsewhere. She found that he really was a beautiful child. Of course, Kol was very handsome as a teenager but there was something off about him. It was probably the look in his eyes. As a vampire, his eyes bore bloodlust and violence. And something else too, but she couldn't really put her finger on that. But as a child, his eyes shone with innocence, curiosity and happiness. If he had those same eyes as a vampire, he would be really handsome. And, she mused, a better person.

In the hallway, Damon was talking to Bonnie about the spell again. Every now and then, Bonnie glanced at Kol.

'I still don't understand how this could happen. Somehow, the spell not only made him a child, but it also took away his vampirism. That isn't possible.'

'Well, apparently it is. What went wrong by the way?'

'I have no idea. I said the correct words and had the right ingredients. It couldn't have gone wrong.'

Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Damon ushered Bonnie to the living room and stalked over to the couch. Kol immediately backed up, his eyes wide with fear as he looked at Damon. He roughly pulled the little boy from the couch and handed him over to Stefan.

'You hold him. Wait in the hallway behind me and only let him go when I say so.'

-TVD-TVD-TVD-

As soon as the Mikaelsons arrived at Caroline's house, Klaus flashed out of the car and grabbed the bag from the trunk.

'Rebekah, you come with me to the door. Kol won't trust me but he will trust you. Elijah, wait by the car. As soon as we have Kol, we need to leave.'

Elijah nodded and Klaus walked up to the front door, Rebekah behind him. As soon as he had rang the doorbell, the door opened to reveal Damon Salvatore.

'Klaus. Do you have the stakes?'

'Not so quick. I want to see Kol first, unharmed. So I know you kept your end of the deal.'

'You hurt my pride.'

Klaus rolled his eyes. 'Don't exaggerate love. I can't hurt what you don't have.'

Damon scowled but stepped aside, showing Kol being held in place by Stefan. He look very frightened but otherwise unharmed. When he saw Klaus, his eyes widened and he tried to get away. Damon turned back towards Klaus.

'As you can see, your happy little psychopath is safe. Now how about your end of the deal?'

Klaus held up the bag. 'They're in here. The twelve White Oak Stakes. We'll cross even. You give me Kol, I'll give you the stakes.'

Damon nodded and grabbed Kol roughly from Stefan's hold. The little boy shook his head and kept trying to pull away. When Klaus noticed this, he stepped aside a bit, to show Rebekah. That calmed Kol down greatly and he stopped his struggling. Damon held his hand out towards Klaus. The moment Klaus gave him the bag, Damon let go of Kol, who immediately shot towards Rebekah. She lifted him up in her arms.

'Sssh, you're safe Kol. Everything is going to be alright now.'

Klaus saw Damon opening the bag and grabbed Rebekah, flashing both of his younger siblings to the car. Elijah was already waiting behind the wheel and Klaus quickly ushered Rebekah and Kol in the backseat, before climbing in the passenger seat. As soon as Klaus had closed the door, Elijah started to drive.

Kol was sobbing in Rebekah's arms, clinging to her with all his might. Rebekah kept drawing comforting circles on his back, whispering softly in his ear. Eventually he calmed down and looked at her quietly.

'Bekah?' He whispered.

'Yes Kol?'

'D-do you l-love me? 'Cause Finn said he doesn't love me and I don't want you to hate me too.'

Rebekah smiled warmly at him and stroked his hair.

'Of course I love you. You're my twin brother, I will always love you.'

Kol sighed sleepily and leaned on her chest.

'Good. I just want my family to love me. But I don't think anyone besides you loves me. I guess I'm just not important enough.'

After that, Kol fell asleep. Rebekah tensed, as did Elijah and Klaus. They knew Kol felt left out as a vampire but they had never known he felt like that as a child too. The rest of the drive was silent. When they got home, Rebekah placed Kol on her hip and carried him to his bedroom.

Klaus and Elijah sat down on the couch, both of them lost in their own thoughts. Suddenly Klaus stood up.

'I'm going back to my paintings.'

With that he left the room. Elijah continued his musings. He realised he had made a grave mistake as an older brother. He had always been focused on Niklaus' redemption, never thinking about his other younger brother. He had allowed Kol to simply spiral out of control, not bothering to see if he needed any help. But Kol had only been seventeen when he was turned, just a teenager. Kol had suffered a great loss when he was turned. He had always loved magic and suddenly, that was taken away from him. Elijah felt a wave of guilt washing over him. He should have focused on all of his siblings, not just Niklaus. Niklaus had him, Rebekah had Niklaus. Who did Kol have? Nobody, for Finn wasn't very brotherly when he was turned. Could all those killings just have been a desperate cry for attention from Kol?

Elijah sighed. He decided that he was somehow going to make it up to Kol. He deserved redemption just as much as Niklaus.

 **A/N So, the very important question that I have. Right know, the end of this story can go two ways. Either Kol is turned normal again or he stays a child and the Mikaelsons raise him and become more of a family again. Well, in both endings, the Mikaelsons will improve their relationships with Kol but I just can't decide which option I like more. So, I'd like to hear your opinions about it and the option that gets the most votes will be the ending I'll use. You can let me know in either a review or a PM. Hope you enjoyed the new chapter!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N Hey guys! I know, I usually post updates later but inspiration just hit me today and I had to write it down. About the ending, I've not yet decided but I've seen some great arguments I hadn't thought about myself. When I post my chapter 8, I will have made a decision, until then you can still tell me which you option you like more. As always, please keep in mind that English is not my native language. I hope you enjoy the chapter and please review!**

 **Disclaimer: Nope, I do not own the Vampire Diaries.**

Chapter 7

Klaus stared at his painting, a brush in his hand. It annoyed him to no end that he couldn't finish the damn painting. He knew what it should look like and how to paint it, yet he failed every time he tried. Eventually he threw away the brush and stalked to his desk. He grabbed his sketchbook and tried to start a new sketch. But apparently, he couldn't even do that.

Klaus grabbed the book and threw it through the room. Something was bothering him and he didn't know what. Rage took over and he started to throw more things and damaging paintings. When he was done, the room was a mess. He sat down on his desk and suddenly his eye fell on a drawing. It was a very old one and half buried under stuff he had thrown. Klaus walked over and picked it up. He smiled at what he saw. He had made it many years ago and he was surprised to find he still had it. The drawing was and old and happy memory.

 **Flashback:**

Klaus and Elijah had just finished sparring. Klaus looked at his sword disappointed, having lost yet again. Elijah clapped him on the back.

'You're improving brother. Keep practicing and you will be a great warrior someday.'

Klaus shrugged his shoulders but smiled at him. Elijah smiled back and turned around.

'Alright Kol, your…' Elijah broke off, looking around for his younger brother who wasn't there.

'Niklaus, did you see Kol leave?' 'No, I was too focused on our fight.'

Elijah frowned. 'You don't think he wandered off into the woods again? We told him not to do that.'

Klaus looked at him mockingly. 'Brother, when has Kol ever listened to anything we said? If he wants to go into the woods, he goes into the woods. At least he took his sword with him.'

Elijah glared at him. 'He wheels a wooden sword, Niklaus. I asked him to bring two wooden swords so I could teach him something new without hurting him.'

Klaus looked at the ground. 'Well, apparently he took both swords. Should we look for him?'

'Yes, we should. Let's go.'

After walking through the woods for several minutes, they heard a faint noise. When they got closer, the noise turned into wood clashing against wood. Finally they reached a clearing. They're eyes widened at what they saw there. Kol and Rebekah, both 14 years old, were sparring against each other with wooden swords. Kol gave Rebekah advise every now and then, while continuing the fight. Both their eyes shone with joy and happiness.

When Elijah opened his mouth, Klaus shushed him. He knew how badly Rebekah wanted to learn how to wield a sword. She appeared to be rather good at it and even seemed to be winning. He chuckled quietly. He was going to tease Kol mercilessly over losing from a girl. Suddenly Rebekah noticed him and she immediately stopped sparring. Kol stopped as well and turned around. He took a step back and looked at the ground shamefully. Klaus and Elijah stepped into the clearing. Elijah raised an eyebrow at the twins.

'Kol, you had us very worried. What made you deem it wise to just leave like that?'

Kol kept staring at the ground, biting his lip. 'I didn't mean to worry you Elijah. I was watching you spar and then I suddenly heard something. I found Bekah and she was sad and I didn't want her to be sad so I asked her what was wrong. She just wanted to learn how to swordfight and I thought I could try to teach her.'

Elijah looked at him sternly. 'Kol, you know that sword fighting is not for girls.'

At that, Kol raised his head. 'Why not? Bekah should know how to defend herself! She deserves to learn it just as much as I do! Why does a stupid boy get to learn how to fight but a smart girl like Bekah not?'

Elijah smiled at him and put a hand on his shoulder. 'Calm down Kol. I am not scolding you because you are teaching Rebekah how to wield a sword. I am scolding you because you went into the woods after we specifically told you not to do that without one of us.'

Kol bowed his head. 'I'm sorry Elijah. I promise I won't do it again.'

'Good. I will keep you to that promise.'

Klaus smirked at his little brother. 'It seems you are a terrible swordfighter. You were losing from Rebekah.'

Kol shrugged. 'What can I say? It appears she is very talented with the sword. I suppose I am not as good as I thought I was. Maybe you could teach her instead, Nik? After all, you know much more about fighting than I do.'

Rebekah beamed at the praise. Klaus walked over to her and helped her improve her stand. Elijah pushed Kol who was watching Klaus and Rebekah.

'You know Kol, when I was watching, I noticed the most curious thing. You made some mistakes in your technique that are far too clumsy for you. You have passed that stage two years ago. Can you explain that to me?'

Kol looked up with a smile. 'She was so happy when I offered to teach her. When she understood the basics, she asked if I would spar with her. So I said yes and her smile was so big, it lit up her entire face. I wanted to keep her happy so I was letting her win.'

Elijah ruffled Kol's hair. 'That certainly was very nice of you. And I suppose you didn't want her to know that so you lied to Niklaus when he said you are a terrible swordfighter, even though you know he will bother for you a long time with that?'

'I would do anything to keep Bekah happy, anything. She's my sister and I love her.'

Suddenly Rebekah came running up to them. She pulled Kol away and whispered into his ear: 'Shall we attack Elijah and Nik? It will be fun and we will defeat them. We are the best swordfighters anyway.'

Kol smiled at her and bowed. 'I am at your side when you go into battle, my queen. I shall protect you until I die.'

Rebekah giggled and made a curtsey. They turned towards their older brothers, who were talking to each other.

'Attack!' Rebekah screamed.

Together they ran towards Elijah and Klaus, who quickly turned around and their eyes widened in surprise when their siblings attacked them, their eyes twinkling with mischief.

-TVD-TVD-TVD-

Klaus chuckled at the memory. He had been 21 and Elijah 25, yet they ended up playing all day in the woods. At some point, Kol and Rebekah had captured him and demanded he made a crown for Rebekah out of flowers. Not his moment of pride but Rebekah and Kol looked so happy when he did as told. He looked at the drawing. It was the moment of the attack, which had caught him and Elijah offguard. He was very pleased with the drawing. One of the few times that he actually got Kol's eyes right.

Klaus placed the drawing on the middle of his desk. He decided that he wasn't going to finish any paintings today. He needed a drink. When he walked into the living room, Elijah had placed two glasses of bourbon on the table. He smiled at Klaus.

'I heard the noise and figured you would probably like a drink when you were done.'

Klaus nodded and grabbed the drink, sitting down next to Elijah. They were quiet for a long time, not saying anything. Suddenly, Klaus spoke up.

'Do you remember that time in the woods, when we discovered that Kol was teaching Rebekah how to fight?'

Elijah smiled at the memory. 'Yes, I remember that. I believe you had to make a crown out of flowers?'

Klaus nodded. 'Yes, that day. You know, I overheard Kol's confession about making those mistakes on purpose. One of the few times I decided not to tease him.'

'That was a wise choice,' Rebekah's voice sounded from the doorway. She walked inside. 'He was only trying to make me happy. I knew he was making those mistakes, I've watched his trainings with you. That's why I decided to attack you, I thought you deserved a punishment.'

She sat down on the opposite couch, facing her brothers.

'Kol's asleep upstairs in his bedroom. I don't think he will wake up before evening. He was really exhausted.'

Elijah nodded. 'I think we have to set some things straight while he's asleep. Niklaus, you will apologize to Kol. He needs to trust you, otherwise you won't be able to protect him in a dangerous situation.'

Klaus nodded. He wouldn't admit it out loud, but he felt a bit guilty for scaring Kol so bad.

'We will have to be very careful with drinking blood. We can only do that when he's asleep or outside. And we will have to eat human food, in order to keep up the act.'

Rebekah nodded. They drank coffee and alcohol, so food shouldn't be a problem. Besides, she and Kol ate human food at school so people wouldn't get suspicious.

-TVD-TVD-TVD-

It was 2 am. Kol hadn't woken up so his siblings had decided to let him sleep. They had all gone to sleep a few hours ago, since it had been quiet in Kol's room. Rebekah had checked on him and he was sleeping peacefully. Now, however, the boy was tossing and turning, softly whimpering. Tears were streaming down his face. Suddenly, he bolted upright, breathing heavily and crying. He looked around but he didn't see any of his siblings. The room was big, dark and scary. He didn't want to be here!

Kol quickly pushed himself of the bed and ran towards the door. He looked around the hallway. He couldn't see anyone, it was too dark. Kol began to panic. He slid down against the wall, sobbing quietly.

'Kol?' He suddenly heard.

The little boy looked up. A dark figure was looming over him. He tried to scramble away in fear but suddenly felt himself lifted up in strong arms. The figure held him, rubbing his back.

'Sssh, it's okay brother. You're alright now, calm down. It was just a nightmare.'

Kol recognised the voice. 'No! Demon!' He squeaked.

'Sssh Kol, it's alright. I'm no demon, I promise.'

Kol kept struggling and suddenly, his face was tipped upwards and he was looking into blue eyes.

'Kol, you're going to forget that I'm a demon. You'll remember me getting very angry with you but I forgave you and I'm not angry at you anymore.'

The little boy stopped his struggling and clang to his brother instead, still sobbing.

'I'm scared Nik.'

'It's okay, Kol. You're safe now.'

Kol felt himself being carried towards a different room, where his brother sat down on the bed. After sobbing for a few more minutes, he finally looked up. Klaus looked down at him.

'Care to tell me what your nightmare was about?'

'It was about a demon. I saw dead people and lots of blood. Then I saw the killer. He had blood around his mouth and smiled at me. He said he was me.'

At that, Kol started to cry again. Klaus rubbed his back, whispering comforting words. All the while, thinking about what Kol told him. Was he seeing things that he did as a vampire? Suddenly, he felt Kol pulling at his shirt.

'Nik, can I sleep with you? I'm scared and you keep the demon away.'

Klaus sighed. 'Alright, just this one time.'

 **A/N Are there any particulary moments you would like to see with little Kol? Please let me know and I'll try to put it in the story.**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't updated for quite some time. I got sick and since I rarely get sick, my body decided to go full force. Very annoying. Anyways, I'm better now and as you can see, I have written a new chapter. Yes, I have made a decision about the ending but I don't want to spoil anything. The arguments I got were great and actually helped me with this chapter. So thank you all for taking the time to leave your opinion. As always, please keep in mind that English is not my native language. I hope you enjoy this new chapter.**

Chapter 8

Kol woke up feeling warm and safe. Strong arms were wrapped around him and to his left he could hear someone breathing. He snuggled closer to the warmth, closing his eyes again. Suddenly he remembered the previous night. The scary nightmare, Nik comforting him and telling him to forget about Nik being a demon. Kol thought deeply about the last part. Nik was a demon, yet Kol decided to trust him. Why? And suddenly Kol knew. He could sense that Nik felt guilty about what had happened and demons didn't feel guilty. That was why Kol decided he could trust his brother.

The little boy nodded to himself. He turned around and buried his face in Nik's chest. A few minutes later, Kol's stomach growled. Kol wriggled out of Nik's hold and poked his brother in the side, trying to wake him up.

'Nik, wake up.'

Klaus groaned and rolled away. Unfortunately, he didn't notice how close he was to the edge and thus he fell of the bed. Kol giggled. He crawled over to the edge and smiled at Klaus who was looking around, trying to find out how he got on the floor.

'What are you doing on the floor, Nik?' Kol asked with mischief in his voice.

Klaus rolled his eyes and pushed himself of the floor.

'Did you push me of the bed, Kol?'

'No! You fell off because you rolled away from me.'

Klaus sighed. 'Why did I have to wake up, Kol?'

'Because I'm hungry.'

'Then go downstairs, there's food in the kitchen.'

'Aren't you coming?' 'In a minute. You go ahead.'

Kol nodded and hopped off the bed. When he got downstairs, there was nobody there. He walked into the kitchen and looked around but he didn't see any food. He huffed and sat down on the ground, crossing his arms. After waiting for what felt like ages, Rebekah came downstairs. Kol ran straight towards her and hugged her legs. He smiled up to her and she smiled back, lifting him from the ground.

'Morning to you too, Kol. Are you hungry?'

Kol nodded and Rebekah walked over to the table, placing her brother on a chair.

'Stay there, I'll grab you some food.'

After breakfast, Kol hopped of the chair and looked at Rebekah with big pleading eyes.

'Will you play hide and seek with me, Bekah?'

'Sure. I'll count to ten and you hide. But no going outside, understood?'

'Yes Bekah, no hiding outside.'

As soon as Rebekah started counting, Kol took off.

Elijah and Klaus arrived in the kitchen at the same time, Klaus walking straight towards the coffeemaker. He filled his mug and downed it in one gulp.

'I assume you didn't sleep to well?' Elijah inquired.

Klaus shook his head and sat down in a chair.

'It's not that. I woke up at six 'o clock in the morning because I fell of the bed, in order to get away from Kol trying to wake me up.'

Elijah raised one eyebrow. 'What was Kol doing in your room? I thought he was scared of you?'

'He was. But I woke up in the middle of the night because Kol was crying in the hallway. Apparently, he had a nightmare. I tried to comfort him but he was still scared and tried to get away. I compelled him to forget and that seemed to do the trick. But this morning, I realised Kol is a warlock and therefore can't be compelled. So I don't understand why he trusts me all of a sudden.'

Elijah frowned. 'That is indeed rather strange. But I suppose we should be happy that he trusts you, it will spare us some trouble.'

Klaus sighed and looked around. 'Where's Kol anyway?'

'Good question. Probably playing or something.'

At that moment, Kol stormed into the kitchen and hid behind Elijah. He was panting heavily and his eyes were twinkling. Rebekah suddenly appeared in the kitchen as well and strode towards Kol.

'Come here you little devil!'

'No!' Kol squeaked and tightened his grip on Elijah's legs. 'Don't let her get me, Elijah!'

Elijah raised an eyebrow at Rebekah, amusement shining in his eyes.

'What did he do, sister?'

'We were playing hide and seek. I was checking in the bathroom and suddenly I hear the door slam behind me and someone locking it.'

Both Klaus and Elijah managed to bite back a chuckle, with great difficulty. Kol smiled, proud of the mischief he had caused. Rebekah threw her hands up in frustration.

'If you find it so funny, then you can take care of him today. I'm going to school.'

With that, she flashed out of the house, leaving her older brothers perplexed. They hadn't counted on having to take care of Kol for a day. Klaus felt a familiar panic rise inside him. And this time, he knew better then to underestimate little Kol. He felt Elijah put his hand on Klaus' shoulder.

'It's going to be alright, Niklaus. Thanks to you, we know it's not wise to give Kol sugar. We'll be just fine.'

-TVD-TVD-TVD-

Finn walked into the living room and discovered a huge mess. None of his siblings were in sight. It felt slightly akin to the time Niklaus had watched Kol for an hour or two. Finn sighed. He was about to go upstairs when he heard a whimper. He looked around but didn't see anyone. When he heard another whimper and realised it came from behind the couch. He quickly sped over and saw Kol laying on the ground, trembling and tears leaking from his eyes.

'No!' Kol mumbled. 'Please don't! Stop!'

Finn looked around, hoping to see one of his other siblings. He really didn't feel like comforting his youngest brother. Unfortunately, there was no one else in the room. Suddenly, Kol gave a horrified scream that made Finn recoil slightly. The toddler's body was shaking with tremors and Finn could hear a storm starting outside. He placed his hands on either side of Kol's head and before he knew it, he was pulled into Kol's mind.

The first thing Finn noticed was that it was dark. The second thing was that he could hear screams, not too far away. He took off towards the sound and soon found himself in a village. People were running around and screaming. Finn didn't understand them, they spoke a language he didn't know. He looked around, trying to find Kol. After a few minutes he found a trail of blood. It lead into a house, where he could hear people screaming. Finn flashed into the house and his eyes widened with disgust at what he saw. There were several dead bodies on the floor and in the middle of the room, a vampire was drinking from another person. Finn's eyes narrowed when he recognised the vampire. That was Kol, no doubt.

His eyes scanned the rest of the room and suddenly he noticed the toddler version of his brother in a corner of the room. Tears were coursing down his cheeks and he was gasping for air. His eyes were fixed on his vampire self. Finn flashed over and knelt next to his little brother.

'Kol, look at me. I need you to look at me now.'

The toddler didn't react, just kept shaking.

'It's no use brother. He can't hear you.'

Finn turned at the voice. Vampire Kol had finished feeding and was looking at him, blood around his mouth and smiling.

'You can't reach him. He only hears me. And believe me, he's terrified of me. Funny, don't you think? My younger self is scared of me, his future self.'

The toddler kept gasping for air, curling into himself. Vampire Kol strode over and crouched down in front of the little boy.

'You know little one, your brother is here. But that doesn't help you, does it? You know that your siblings don't care about you, especially Finn. He told you that he doesn't love you. And that hurt, didn't it?'

The toddler nodded, eyes wide with fear. Finn clenched his hands in frustration. Why wasn't Rebekah here? She would know how to handle this. Vampire Kol looked at him.

'Why don't you just leave, Finn? You don't want to be here, I can tell. You never cared about your siblings, so why start now? Just leave the little one with me. He won't bother you anymore.'

Finn considered it. He didn't care about his siblings anymore, that much was true. They were an abomination, especially Kol. The fact that he was de-aged didn't change that fact. He nodded and stood up, turning his back towards his little brother.

Finn blinked and found himself back in the living room. Kol was still on the ground, crying and hyperventilating. Outside, a storm was raging. Suddenly, Klaus and Elijah stormed into the room and Finn was pushed aside. He shrugged and went upstairs.

Klaus knelt down and grabbed Kol's wrists.

'Kol, calm down! It's just a nightmare, calm down!'

Thunder crashed outside and lightning lit up the sky. Klaus looked at Elijah.

'What's happening to him?! Why won't he hear me?'

'I don't know! Perhaps he's too far in his own mind. Try going into his head.'

Klaus nodded and placed his hands on either side of Kol's head and went into his brother's mind.

Klaus found himself in the same room Finn had been. He noticed the vampire and his little brother. He flashed over and threw the vampire to the other side of the room. The toddler was shaking with fear. Klaus knelt down and looked into the boy's eyes.

'Kol, listen to me. This is not real, you're just dreaming. You have to wake up!'

'Well isn't this a sight? Nik finally cares about me!'

Klaus turned around and saw vampire Kol walking towards him. He was smirking humourlessly.

'Why don't you just leave? He knows you don't really care about him. Finn came here with the same intention as you and he left. So why don't you do the same?'

Klaus clenched his fists. He couldn't determine if he was dealing with an imagination or the actual Kol. Anyway, he didn't have time for this.

'Shut up!' He growled.

Suddenly, he noticed that toddler Kol was choking. His face was ashen and his lips were turning blue. Klaus wrapped his arms around the toddler and stroked his hair.

'It's okay Kol, you're just dreaming. I don't know what you've seen but it isn't true. If you wake up, Elijah and I will be there. You just have to wake up. We'll be there, I promise.'

-TVD-TVD-TVD-TVD-

Rebekah walked into a quiet house. Too quiet for her liking. She checked the kitchen and the living room but couldn't find anyone. When she walked upstairs, she heard voices come from Kol's room. She opened the door quietly and her eyes widened at what she saw. Her twin was in Elijah's arms, shaking and crying, while Klaus was pacing. When he noticed her, he motioned for her to come inside.

'What happened?'

'Well, for the most it was things we could handle. At some point, Kol fell asleep behind the couch so Elijah and I went to drink some blood. But when we noticed a thunderstorm outside, we went to check on Kol. Apparently, he had a horrible nightmare and we couldn't reach him. He was crying and hyperventilating and at some point he started to choke. It took way too long before we managed to wake him up and help him breathe. Looking back, I think he had a panic attack.'

Elijah stood up, a sleeping Kol in his arms.

'Sadly, that's not the worst. When we got into the living room, Finn was there. Niklaus discovered that Finn also went into Kol's head but left him there. Apparently, he didn't care enough to try and comfort Kol.'

Rebekah felt furious. They all knew that Finn didn't care much about them, but he could at least be a little kinder towards Kol. He was a toddler now for heaven's sake! He didn't deserve the same treatment as vampire Kol.

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Finn was sitting on a chair in his bedroom, staring out of the window. He thought back to Kol's nightmare. Maybe it had been wrong to leave Kol there. But Elijah and Klaus pulled their youngest brother out, didn't they? Besides, why should he care about his siblings? They were abominations and they didn't care about him either. He closed his eyes and was suddenly assaulted by an old memory.

 **Flashback:**

Finn was franticly looking around the village. His mother had noticed when it was time for supper, that Kol was nowhere to be seen. When questioned, it turned out that nobody had seen the boy all day. So now Finn was looking for Kol. It was already dark, not a good time for the toddler to be outside.

'Kol!' Finn shouted. 'Kol, where are you?'

There was no response and Finn had checked the entire village. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. Kol loved the forest, had loved since Finn took him there for the first time two years ago. Finn took off towards the trees, hoping Kol wasn't lost.

'Kol! Can you hear me?!'

Panic rose inside of Finn. What if his brother was hurt? It made him run even quicker, while he kept shouting Kol's name.

Suddenly, he heard a small cry from the direction of the river. He immediately dashed towards it. He gasped when he found Kol. His brother was laying on the riverbank, gasping for air and completely soaked. Finn gathered his brother in his arms and helped him breathe. Kol was shivering and tears streamed down his face.

'What happened, Kol?'

'I-I-I d-didn't m-mean t-to f-fall i-into t-the r-river. I-I j-just s-slipped.'

'It's okay Kol. But what were you doing here in the first place? You're not supposed to go into the woods without father, mother or me.'

Kol sniffled. 'I w-wanted to play with Nik and Lijah and Bekah. B-but t-they didn't want to p-play with m-me. A-and t-then B-Bekah s-said…s-she s-said…'

'What did she say, Kol?'

'S-she s-said that n-nobody l-likes m-me because I'm s-stupid.'

Finn hugged the little boy closer.

'Oh Kol. I'm sure Rebekah didn't mean that. She was probably upset about something else and you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. But why didn't you come to me?'

'I thought you didn't want to play with me anymore. Lars said that you're a man now and that you don't want to play with me.'

'Kol, just because I'm a man now, doesn't mean I won't play with you anymore. I just won't be able to play all the time. Now come on, let's go home. Everyone's worried about you.'

Finn hoisted Kol up and walked home with the toddler in his arms. When they were halfway, Kol suddenly looked at him. His almond shaped eyes had a very serious look in them.

'Do you love me, Finn?'

Finn kissed his brother's forehead. 'You're my brother, Kol. I will always love you.'

Kol smiled at him and laid his head on Finn's shoulder.

'I love you too, Finn. Always.'

 **End of flashback**

Finn's eyes snapped open. Guilt washed over him in waves as he realised how he had treated the toddler version of his brother. Yes, vampire Kol was an abomination. But the Kol they were dealing with now was different. This was the little brother he had loved from the day the boy was born. The little brother he had sworn to protect until the day he died. Suddenly, he remembered how he could sometimes see the little boy he used to know, in vampire Kol. Maybe, just maybe, there was still hope for his family.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N Hey everyone. As you can see, I've managed to conquer my writer's block. I hope you'll like this chapter, it took me a lot of struggeling to finish it. As always, please keep in mind that English is not my native language. Enjoy this new chapter!**

 **Disclaimer: Nope, the Vampire Diaries still doesn't belong to me**

Chapter 9

Bonnie sighed. This was the umpteenth time she had looked through all the spell books she had and she still hadn't found anything. The spell she had used on Kol shouldn't have de-aged him, only torture him. In her head, Bonnie went back to the moment she had used the spell.

 **Flashback:**

Damon and Stefan came into the room, an unconscious Kol between them. Elena helped them to put chains on the Original.

'Pull the stake out,' Bonnie said. 'The spell won't work if the stake is still in him.'

Damon pulled the stake out and they all took a few steps back.

'When are you going to use the spell, Bonnie?' Elena asked.

'I have to wait for him to wake up. Otherwise, torture won't have much use.'

After a few moments Kol began to stir. He blinked a few times before realising what exactly was going on. He rolled his eyes in annoyance.

'I'm really not in the mood for this. So how about we just skip to the part where I snap the Salvatores' necks, knock the girls unconscious and leave? I would just kill you all but then Nik would be angry with me for killing his precious doppelgänger and I don't fancy that.'

'How about you shut up!' Damon snarled.

Kol glared at him.

'Like I said before, I am really not in the mood for this.'

With that, Kol started to pull on the chains.

'Start the spell, Bonnie!' Elena shouted.

Bonnie closed her eyes and started to chant. Kol pulled harder on the chains, anger flashing in his eyes. Suddenly he gasped and his body started to tremble. Bonnie chanted louder and louder. When she opened her eyes, she could just make out a simple bracelet on Kol's wrist before a huge flash blinded her.

 **End of flashback**

Bonnie gasped. Quickly she grabbed one of her books and started leaving through it until she found the spell she was looking for. She grabbed her phone and called Elena. A few minutes later, Damon, Stefan and Elena were standing in her living room.

'So, you finally found out what you did wrong?' Damon asked.

Bonnie ignored and grabbed the book.

'It's right here. I didn't pay much attention to it because I thought it was the spell we used in the first place. That is because it requires most of the ingredients we used, except for one extra ingredient. In order to use the spell I'm talking about, the person you want to change has to have something personal, from that time, on them. Now, I don't know if any of you noticed but Kol was wearing a bracelet. I'm guessing it has a deeper meaning and that's why he turned into a toddler.'

'Well that's great, Bon-Bon, we finally know what went wrong. But how is that going to help us?'

'Well, the book also tells how the spell can be undone. I'm guessing the Mikaelsons probably want Kol turned back into a vampire, which means we have a bargaining chip. Especially since it requires me to undo it, as I'm the one who performed it.'

Stefan nodded in understanding.

'I think that's great. But what do we want in return from them?'

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Kol woke up feeling very thirsty. He crawled out of bed and walked over to the door that was slightly ajar. He didn't see anyone in the hallway. Kol sighed. Where was he supposed to find something to drink? Then it hit him. The kitchen was downstairs and he had seen how Rebekah got something to drink from what she called a fridge.

Kol happily skipped downstairs and towards the kitchen but stopped when he heard his siblings talking in the living room. They sounded upset. Kol frowned. He didn't like it when his family was upset. When he heard his own name mentioned, he carefully peeked into the living room. Klaus was talking angrily to Finn while Elijah held Rebekah back. Kol thought deeply. Why were they angry with Finn? Maybe because Finn had been mean to him? But Kol had already forgiven him. He smiled happily when he found a solution. He walked into the living room, smile still present. Elijah was the first to notice him.

'Hello Kol. Already awake again?'

Immediately the room went quiet. Kol nodded and looked at Klaus curiously.

'Nik, why are you angry with Finn?'

Klaus sighed. 'Because he was a horrible brother to you, Kol.'

The little boy shrugged.

'So? I don't care. I've already forgiven him.'

Klaus' eyes widened. 'How could you possibly forgive him for what he did?'

'What Niklaus means,' Elijah said. 'Is, how can you forgive him so soon?'

Kol smiled at him, although it was a sad smile.

'It isn't so hard. Finn was probably already angry about something and I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Besides, you all have said at least once that you don't love me and you all apologized. I forgave you so Finn deserves forgiveness too.'

Finn thought back to the flashback he had had a few hours earlier. That was probably what Kol was talking about now. He looked down and saw his youngest brother look at him with forgiveness in his eyes. Finn sighed. Several emotions were coursing through him, some telling him to tell Kol he loved him, others arguing that Kol didn't forgiveness, even if he was a toddler now. Suddenly a small hand grabbed his.

'You can think about it,' Kol whispered. 'You don't even have to answer. We're brothers no matter what.'

With that, the little boy let go and turned towards Rebekah.

'Can I have something to drink? I'm thirsty.'

Rebekah swallowed back some emotions and smiled at her twin.

'Of course. How about some apple juice?'

Kol cheered and she picked him up. When the two youngest had disappeared into the kitchen, Klaus glared at him.

'I don't care what Kol said, what you did was unforgiveable. I know you don't love us but then you shouldn't have gone into Kol's head in the first place. I know our brother has done some awful things in the past but you can't hold this Kol accountable for it.'

'You're one to talk,' Finn said. 'If I recall correctly you have daggered Kol repeatedly in the past, even though you knew how much it hurt him. The same goes for you Elijah. You like to consider yourself as the noble one of us, yet you neglected Kol after we turned. You helped Klaus dagger him, time after time. You're no better than me.'

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A few days passed after that. Finn, Klaus and Elijah acted coolly around each other when Kol was near them but when he wasn't, they sent each other hateful glares and sneers. Rebekah stayed out of it as much as she could and focussed her attention on her twin brother.

At some point, Klaus had turned the house upside down because he was missing some of his pencils. He finally found them in Kol's room, where he also discovered that he wasn't the only artist in the family. Klaus put the drawing in his sketchbook after Kol gave it to him.

The day after that, Elijah had had the perfect opportunity to learn how to use a fire-extinguisher because Kol had managed to set the curtains on fire with his magic, reminding his siblings that they really needed someone to teach the boy some control.

Today, Kol was outside doing cartwheels. Rebekah sat on the steps by the front door, keeping an eye on him. She shook her head in fond amusement. She never knew her twin could do so many cartwheels in a row. While keeping Kol in her line of vision, Rebekah had pondered over the things Kol had said. She didn't remember Kol feeling unloved when they were five years old. But then again, she wasn't a very reliable source since she was just a child herself back then. But why hadn't she noticed anything when they were teenagers? They were twins, so they had always been very close. Always listening to each other and protecting each other.

Suddenly, she felt something pulling softly on her sleeve. She looked beside her and saw Kol staring back at her. His face was red and he was slightly panting but his eyes were twinkling happily.

'What are you thinking about, Bekah? You look sad, are you sad? Was somebody mean to you? If they were, you have to tell me, then I will make them apologize.'

Rebekah chuckled. 'I'm not sad Kol, I was just thinking. Are you tired yet?'

'A bit. But I was wondering about something.'

'And what would that be?'

'Where are Mother and Father?'

Rebekah's eyes widened. She had absolutely no idea what to say. She couldn't tell Kol they were dead, he would be inconsolable.

'Ehm, they're…traveling. Yeah, they're traveling. I don't know when they will be back though.'

'Okay. I'm going inside, are you coming?'

'In a bit. You go ahead.'

Kol nodded and disappeared inside. Rebekah stared ahead and made a mental note to tell Elijah about Kol's question. Then she returned to her earlier thoughts. Why did she stop listening to her twin when they were turned? He had always been there for her, helping her out with everything. What made her turn her back on him? He hadn't hurt her, not once in his entire life had he hurt her. Suddenly she remembered. Kol had been devastated when he found out he could no longer do magic. The only thing that mattered more to him than magic was his family. And he lost both when they were turned. He closed himself off and pushed them all away. Eventually, he turned into something they all despised and none of them had bothered to find out what had driven the mischievous, protective and loving brother to turning into a violent monster. Suddenly, an old memory popped up in her head.

 **Flashback**

Rebekah ran out of the village, into the forest. Tears were in her eyes, making it harder to see where she was going. Eventually, she tripped and fell on the ground. She pushed herself up and wrapped her arms around her knees. Tears were now freely coursing down her face and her body was trembling with sobs. She didn't know how long she sat there but it was getting dark when she suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder. Startled she turned around and saw Kol crouching in front of her. He smiled at her but his eyes shone with worry.

'What's wrong, Bekah? Why are you crying?'

Rebekah rubbed at her eyes with the sleeve of her dress.

'It's nothing, Kol. Leave me alone.'

Instead of doing as he was told, Kol sat down next to her.

'Sorry, but I can't do that. There's a party and you are supposed to be there with that boy I don't approve of. So why are you in the forest, crying your eyes out?'

Rebekah stared to cry again so Kol wrapped his arms around her, rubbing circles on her back.

'H-he s-said he c-couldn't go w-with me be-because I'm ugly and s-stupid. A-and then h-he k-kissed Olga.'

Rebekah felt Kol stiffen slightly but he didn't say anything. Instead, he just kept rubbing circles on her back. Eventually Rebekah calmed down. Kol let go of her and looked her straight in the eye.

'Listen to me, Bekah. You are the smartest and most beautiful girl in the entire world. That boy is stupid for not seeing that. Don't be upset about what he said because it's not true.'

'Do you truly mean that, Kol?'

'I give you my word, sister. Now, shall we go to that party together?'

Rebekah looked at her dress. It was covered in mud and grass.

'I can't go like this. I look awful.'

Kol smiled at her and helped her up.

'Let's see what I can do about that.'

He took her back home and pushed her to the bedroom, telling to clean herself up. When she returned to the main room, Kol was holding a beautiful dress.

'Put this on, Bekah.'

He helped her with the dress and did her hair. When she was done, they went to the party. Everyone else was already there and dancing. Kol smiled encouragingly at her.

'Do you want to dance?'

Rebekah nodded and let her twin brother lead her to the middle. Halfway through the dance, Kol lifted her up and spun around. Rebekah laughed with excitement. Later on, other boys asked to dance with her and Kol gave his permission when Rebekah wanted to dance with the boys. Every time Rebekah looked at her twin, he was standing on the side, his eyes shining happily as he watched her have fun.

 **End of flashback**

Rebekah smiled at the memory. They had been sixteen at the time. The next day, she heard that the boy who had insulted her, had been beaten up badly but no one ever find out who did it. Only Rebekah had known, since the boy had apologized to her, so she knew Kol had beaten the boy up. Suddenly, Rebekah felt a wave of guilt. She should have been there for Kol when they were turned, help him through things. Just for once, she could have repaid him for everything he had done for her in their childhood. She made a decision. The moment Kol was a vampire again, she would make up for abandoning him. She owned him that much.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N Hey everyone! It has been quite some time since my last post and I want to apologize for that. I keep hitting some sort of writer's block so if anyone has some suggestions for the story, don't hesitate to let me know. I know this is not an incredibely long chapter but like I said, it seems my muse has taken an vacation without my permission. Of course, I will finish this story because I'm stubborn and I really like this story. I've simply hit a wall right now. Anyway, here's a new chapter for y'all. As always, please keep in mind that English is not my native language. Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: Same answer as in my last chapter.**

Chapter 10

Stefan sighed. He had been listening to his friends and brother bickering for an entire week and he was sick of it. Damon was vehemently against turning Kol back into a vampire while Caroline was all for it. Bonnie and Matt had chosen the side of Caroline while Elena had sided with Damon.

If Stefan had to be honest, he could understand both sides. Vampire Kol was unpredictable and dangerous, while de-aged Kol was vulnerable. So he understood why Damon didn't want Bonnie to turn Kol back. But he could also understand Caroline. If they could make a deal with the Mikaelsons, they would be rid of them. Caroline had suggested that Bonnie turned Kol back and, in exchange, the Mikaelsons would leave Mystic Falls.

The annoying thing for Stefan right now was that both sides expected him to agree with them. If he picked Damon's side, it would be a tie and Caroline would be mad at him. But if he picked her side, Damon would be mad at him. He didn't want to upset either of them.

Stefan sighed again and looked at Damon and Caroline facing off. This was going to last forever. Suddenly, Matt pulled him aside.

'Look, I just spoke with Bonnie. We know that you don't want to choose a side but we really need to make a decision. What Damon and Elena are forgetting is that we have the White Oak Stakes. Even if the Mikaelsons don't keep up their part of the deal, they can't hurt us.'

'Fine, I'll talk to Damon.'

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Finn and Elijah had just cleaned up the living room when Klaus walked in.

'Niklaus, please tell us you found someone who can teach Kol some control.'

Klaus grumbled something unintelligible and turned away from his desperate looking older brothers. Elijah sighed.

'What happened?'

Klaus turned back to his brothers with a scowl on his face.

'Somehow, I can't contact Kol's bloody witches. And the only one I did manage to find resulted in a horrible headache. Apparently, my reputation precedes me.'

'Well, there goes our only hope,' Finn muttered darkly.

Klaus looked around the living room.

'Why were you cleaning up this room? Where are Kol and Rebekah?'

'Well, Kol got enthusiastic about something. It resulted in him creating a tornado in the living room. You can imagine the mess that created.'

Klaus chuckled. 'How did he manage to stop it?'

'Rebekah broke his concentration. Since it took quite a bit of his energy, Rebekah took him upstairs to take a nap. She should be downstairs soon.'

At that moment, Rebekah appeared.

'Nik, please tell me you found someone who can teach Kol control!'

'Sorry sister. The only witch I managed to find gave me an aneurism. It seems they're not too fond of me.'

Rebekah fell on the couch.

'That's just great. He has got to learn some control. A few days ago he set the curtains on fire and now he created a tornado in the living room. If we're not careful, he'll blow up the entire house!'

'I can assure you Rebekah, that won't happen.'

'You have seen what he can do, Finn!'

'Yes, and I have also seen how much of his energy that costs him. He would be unconscious before he had even managed to destroy the living room.'

Elijah sighed.

'Rebekah, calm down. If Kol hears you, we'll have a new problem. It's important that we all focus. Has anyone found out how we can turn Kol back?'

'I know of one thing that might work,' Finn said. 'I have overheard some of the lessons Mother gave Kol. I don't know if you remember but there was one time when Kol accidently turned one of his friends into a rabbit. He was very upset but Mother said spells like those could be reversed.'

'That's great,' Rebekah said. 'We only have to find a witch to turn Kol back.'

'Unfortunately, it's not that simple. There is one condition to the reversing of spells like these. The only one who can reverse it, is the witch who cast the spell.'

'You've got to be bloody joking,' Klaus grumbled. 'There is no way the Bennet witch will turn our brother back. Out of us all, they hate Kol the most. Can't entirely blame them, of course.'

'Maybe they're willing to strike a deal?' Finn suggested.

Klaus scowled at him.

'The only thing they could possibly want from us is our death. And I rather enjoy being alive, thank you very much.'

'Finn, are you certain we can't try to teach Kol the spell, so he can turn himself back? He is rather powerful for someone his age.'

'Although it would be much easier, I'm afraid not. Even if Kol would be powerful enough, we don't know which spell they used. And I don't think the Salvatores would be very willing to tell us.'

'I could torture them to do it.'

Elijah sighed again.

'Niklaus, do you have to sound so cheerful when talking about torture?'

Rebekah always found moments like this enforcing the fact how much Kol and Klaus were alike. If it had been Kol, he would have sounded just as cheerfully. One would expect the brothers got along famously but Rebekah knew the opposite to be true, considering all the times Klaus had daggered Kol.

Suddenly, a thought struck her.

'Could it be possible Kol is already trying to break the spell from his subconsciousness? I mean, Nik and Finn both saw our Kol inside the mind of toddler Kol. Maybe he's trying to break through.'

Everyone looked at Finn for confirmation. He thought deeply before answering.

'Honestly, I don't know. I have never heard of a spell like this before, Mother certainly never mentioned it. Although I have to say it concerns me that our Kol is inside the mind of toddler Kol. It makes me wonder if the spell has been performed correctly. If it isn't, I cannot predict what could happen to Kol. It could prove to be fatal.'

'Is there any way we can find out if it has been performed correctly?'

'I'm afraid only Bonnie Bennet can tell us that, since she knows what she did.'

'Well then,' Klaus said. 'Let's find the Bennet witch.'

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Elijah was sitting on the side of Kol's bed. His siblings had left him in charge of watching over Kol, something he didn't really mind. While he wanted to assist his family, he wasn't needed by them at the moment. But someone had to protect Kol, since they couldn't exactly leave him alone.

His youngest brother was sleeping soundly, curled towards Elijah which amused him. It reminded him of their childhood, when they all had to share one bed. He and Finn would sleep on the most outer sides, Kol and Klaus next to them and Rebekah and Henrik in the middle. Elijah had awoken almost every day with Kol firmly attached to his side and Henrik attached to Kol's. It was rather endearing, especially since Kol and Henrik were the only ones who did that. Even better was the fact that they did it subconsciously, not really aware of the action as they were asleep.

Elijah was suddenly overwhelmed with a longing for his childhood, when things weren't as complicated as they were now. Of course Mikael wasn't the father of the century but they all had each other. He and Finn had practically raised their younger siblings, except for Henrik. They had all loved their youngest brother but Kol had shared a special bond with the youngest Mikaelson. When Henrik wanted comfort or safety, he would always go to Kol. And Kol always had time for his little brother, just like he had time for everyone else. He might have been a scrawny boy for quite some time but he was fiercely protective of his family. And he was smart. When his opponent was stronger, Kol used brains instead of brawn.

Elijah was pulled out of his musings when two bleary eyes stared up at him. He smiled warmly at the toddler.

'Did you sleep well, Kol?'

The little boy nodded and used his fists to rub the sleep out of his eyes. Still a bit sleepy, he crawled into Elijah's lap and leaned against his brother's chest.

'I had a dream, 'Lijah.'

'Really? May I ask what you dreamed about?'

'I was walking through a forest. I think I was afraid at first but then I heard someone cry and I wasn't afraid anymore.'

'Did you find out who was crying?'

The little boy closed his eyes, thinking deeply.

'It was a boy, or a man, I don't know. Maybe he was close to being a man but not yet. He was alone and I could feel his sadness.'

Kol's eyes opened again but had a faraway look.

'He was sitting on the ground, with his arms around his legs. I think he was trying not to cry, trying to be strong. I could see our village and I think I saw the boy's family. I couldn't see who they were, the village was too far away. But I could feel their sadness too. But there was something different about their sadness.'

'What do you mean, different?'

'Like, they were sad but you could feel they would be alright. It would take time but they would be alright. The boy, his sadness had….an edge I guess. It was stronger and it made me sad too. There was loneliness, fear and no hope. I think he had lost something special and it would never heal.'

Had he not been so shocked about the dream, Elijah would have marvelled at Kol's sudden eloquent speech. But Elijah recognized the things his brother was describing.

It sounded like the day Henrik died.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N Hey guys! I apologize for taking so long with updating this story. I have no valid reason for not posting, except for the writer's block. Sorry that you had to wait so long again. I hope this chapter makes it up a bit. If it's not good, let me know and I'll change it. Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own the Vampire Diaries.**

Chapter 11

Caroline studied Damon for a moment. He had been scowling ever since Stefan convinced him to strike a deal with the Mikaelsons. It was clear he still wasn't happy with the idea of letting Bonnie turn Kol back. Well, he could be unhappy all he wanted, as long as he behaved during the negotiation with Klaus.

She and Damon were sitting at the bar, waiting for Klaus to show up. They had agreed to meet with the Original in the Mystic Grill, since it was the most neutral place they could think of. Caroline had to admit, she had been rather surprised when Klaus called her to talk about negotiations. He wasn't the type for negotiations in her eyes, certainly not in cases like this. It made her wonder if he was desperate.

But why would he be? When she had met de-aged Kol, he seemed like such a sweet boy. A bit mischievous perhaps, but not enough to drive a person crazy. Well, she would find out soon enough, as Klaus and Finn entered the Grill at that moment. They walked over to them and sat down next to her.

'Hello love,' Klaus greeted. Finn simply nodded at them.

Damon frowned at the sight of both Originals and grabbed the Stake in his pocket.

'Shall we start the negotiations? Although I love to admire your beauty, Caroline, this matter is rather pressing.'

Caroline shot Damon a warning look, before turning to the Mikaelson brothers. She was rather surprised Finn had come too, but she supposed the eldest Mikaelson had his reasons.

'Well, it's rather simple. You want Bonnie to turn Kol back to his normal self. We want you to leave Mystic Falls, for good. I'm sure we can find an agreement in this.'

Klaus frowned at the mentioning of leaving Mystic Falls. He wasn't quite ready to leave the town, since he still wanted to make more hybrids. On the other hand, was he willing to give up his brother, just to make his army stronger? Kol was family, his little brother.

'Actually,' Finn spoke up. 'We want to know something else first.'

'We're not telling you where the White Oak Stakes are.' Damon snapped.

Finn sighed, looking very annoyed that he had been interrupted.

'That is not what we want to know. We need you to tell us what spell Bonnie used to turn Kol into a toddler. Did she intend for it to happen?'

Before Damon could answer, Caroline cut him off. There was no need to lie about it, seeing as only Bonnie could turn Kol back.

'She didn't. When we found out Kol had been turned into a toddler, she was just as surprised as the rest of us. She used a certain spell but it has been messed up because Kol was wearing a bracelet, which changed the outcome of the spell.'

Finn mentally banged his head against the wall. He stood up abruptly and left the Grill, leaving Klaus to do the rest of the negotiations. Damon stood up as well but Klaus motioned for him to sit back down.

'We haven't finished the negotiations yet. I assure you, Finn has no intentions to harm any of you. Or not yet, at least. But, returning to our point, you want us to leave Mystic Falls forever, and in exchange your witch turns Kol back. Did I understand that correctly?'

Caroline nodded.

'How did you imagine that? Do we leave before or after the Bennet witch turns Kol back?'

'I think we can pick a spot outside of Mystic Falls, where Bonnie turns your brother back. When she's finished, you and your family leave.'

'With or without the White Oak Stakes?'

'Without, of course,' Damon snarled. 'That way, we can make sure you keep your part of the deal.'

Klaus nodded in understanding.

'I have to talk with my siblings about this. I will let you know when we've reached a decision. Enjoy the rest of your day, my beautiful Caroline.'

With that, Klaus left the Grill as well.

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Elijah woke up with a start when he heard someone knocking on the door. Apparently, he had fallen asleep without knowing. Kol was still in his lap, sleeping quietly.

Rebekah poked her head inside and when she saw her brothers, she entered the room.

'There you are! Kol isn't awake yet?'

'He woke up some time ago, but has fallen back asleep. And it seems I had fallen asleep as well. How did the negotiations go?'

Rebekah walked over and sat down next to him.

'I don't know the details but Nik just called me. He said they're coming back now and that Kol has to be awake. Did anything happen while we were gone?'

Elijah frowned and looked down at his sleeping brother. Hopefully Kol would stay asleep when he told Rebekah what happened.

'Kol told me about a dream he had.'

'Why are you frowning? Dreams are good, right?'

'It was good, if you consider the fact that it wasn't a nightmare and it didn't cause a panic attack. But it's what he described that concerns me. It sounded exactly like the day that Henrik died.'

Rebekah bit her lip and looked away for a moment. Even after a thousand years, the memory still hurt. She looked back at Elijah when he placed a hand on her shoulder.

'I know, sister. But we mustn't dwell on the past now. From what I understand, the dream didn't scare Kol in any sort of way. It simply confused him, which is understandable.'

Rebekah nodded and looked at her twin brother, who was still sound asleep in Elijah's lap. She gently stroked his cheek, causing the little boy to open his eyes. He stared at her sleepily for a moment, before a smile threaten to split his face.

'Bekah!'

He crawled over to her and hugged her. The action drove away the lingering sadness that had been caused by the memory of Henrik's death.

'Hey, Kol. Had enough sleep?'

'Yup. Can we play tag? I'll be it.'

Rebekah smiled and lifted Kol up, carrying him to the wardrobe to dress him. Elijah stood up and left the room, having heard the front door open and close.

When he arrived downstairs, Klaus and Finn were already in the living room, both having made a beeline for the cabinet that contained the bourbon. Finn sat down in a chair, taking a big gulp from his glass, while Klaus poured Elijah a glass before sitting down on the couch.

'What happened?'

'Something that gives us reason to worry. The spell was most definitely not performed correctly.'

'And although that explains a lot,' Klaus piped up. 'It also gives us quite the headache. Like Finn said before, this could prove to be fatal. And it's quite clear that the Bennet witch won't help us without wanting something in return.'

Elijah sat down heavily, processing what his brothers had just told him. For a while, it was quiet in the room, the three brothers lost in their own thoughts.

They were interrupted when they heard a crash, followed by a scream of Rebekah. They sped upstairs as quickly as they could, only to collide with their sister halfway on the stairs.

'Move, you bloody idiots! I have to get outside, now!'

The brothers sped after her, but stopped dead in their tracks when they saw shards of glass on the ground. Rebekah was looking franticly around her, looking besides herself with worry. Klaus was the first to approach her.

'What happened, sister?'

'We were playing tag and Kol was trying to get away from me. A-and then…h-he f-fell…through the window.'

Klaus paled, as did Elijah. They started looking around as well, but looked up when they heard Finn chuckling. Klaus rounded on him.

'What's so funny? Kol is probably seriously hurt!'

Finn shook his head, still grinning.

'I wouldn't worry about that, brother. I suggest all of you look up at the window of Kol's bedroom, just for a minute.'

Klaus looked up suspiciously and his eyes comically widened at the sight that met him. Kol was floating in the air above him, waving enthusiastically at him.

'Hi, Nik! It's alright, I'm okay!'

'How the bloody hell did you get up there?'

The little boy shrugged casually.

'I fell through the window and I thought I was gonna die. But then I was flying, like a bird. I like it, but the falling was really scary.'

Elijah shook his head in fond exasperation, relieved Kol hadn't broken his neck or anything.

'Maybe it would be wise to get down, Kol?'

'No!' The little boy shouted. 'I like flying. I don't wanna come down.'

Klaus muttered something under his breath about annoying little brothers who weren't supposed to be flying, while Rebekah reached her arms out to Kol.

'Kol, if you stay up there, I can't play with you. I can't fly. Would you please come down? I'll catch you.'

Kol looked thoughtful for a moment, then nodded his head in agreement. He looked at the ground and suddenly, he fell down with a great speed. The boy screamed and closed his eyes.

When he opened them, Rebekah was clutching him to her chest and carrying him inside. She scolded him gently and he promised he would never do it again.

In the living room they all sat down, Kol in Rebekah's lap. Finn sighed. Although Kol's action had brought an amusing distraction, they an important problem to attend to. Elijah crouched down in front of Kol, who frowned at his brother's serious expression.

'Kol, do you remember the day you woke up here, like this?'

The little boy nodded.

'Alright, do you remember that Niklaus told you someone had turned you back into a child?'

'Yes. Why?'

'Well, we're going to have to turn you back. But in order to do that, we need your help.'

Kol's bottom lip trembled and tears started to gather in his eyes.

'Why? Don't you love me anymore? I'm sorry if I made you mad, I won't do it again, I promise!'

The toddler flung himself to Elijah, his shoulders shaking with sobs. Elijah rubbed his brother's back, trying to comfort him.

'We do love you and I promise you did nothing wrong. But don't you think that your Finn, Elijah, Niklaus and Rebekah miss you? I am most certain that they want you back. And think about our Kol. Don't you think he wants his brothers and sister back?'

That made the toddler calm down. He looked at Elijah with red-rimmed eyes, his expression still sad.

'I think my brothers and sister miss me. How can I help?'

Klaus sat down next to Elijah.

'I have to go into your head, to find some things. You just need to lay still. Can you do that?'

Kol nodded and laid down. Klaus gently grabbed both sides of his brother's head and went inside.

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Klaus blinked and looked around. He was standing in the middle of a field, with trees on the edges. The sky was a brilliant shade of blue and he could see mountain tops over the trees. He didn't recognize the scenery, not in the slightest.

'What are you doing here?'

The voice came from behind, making him jump (not that he would ever admit to it) and he turned around. 17-year-old Kol was staring at him. The teenager was dressed in a simple white tunic and brown pants. His brown curls reached just over his shoulders and his eyes were shining with something akin to fear. He was clutching a bloodied sword loosely in one hand.

Klaus held up his hands, trying to seem as non-threating as he could.

'Kol, it's me, it's Klaus.'

'I know who you are, Nik, I'm not an idiot. I asked what you are doing here?'

'Look, I need to speak with you. You're a warlock, are you not?'

'I am. Why are you asking that?'

'Good, that means I found the right you.'

The teenager cocked his head slightly.

'You know about the demon? How?'

'I've met him before. But that doesn't matter, he's not the one I need. You see, I want to know something about a certain spell.'

'Then why don't you ask Mother? She knows much more than I do about magic.'

'I can't, so I need to ask you. Have you ever heard of a spell than can turn someone into a child?'

Kol frowned.

'I know of spells that can turn people in all sorts of things. Though I have never heard of turning someone into a child. But I assume it could be possible. Why do you want to know?'

'Well, you were cursed and now you're five years old. We want to turn you back, but we need you to tell us how.'

Kol backed away, shaking his head.

'I can't. I don't know how.'

'What do you mean, you don't know?'

'Look, I haven't been here very long. I escaped some time ago and that demon is after me. I spend all my time running, I don't even know what's happening around me. You can't expect me to know how to reverse something that I wasn't even aware of!'

Klaus sighed. His patience was seriously wearing thin.

'Kol, you're not making any sense! You're a warlock, so reverse the spell!'

'I can't! I'm not the one who's in control!'

'Then who is?'

'That bloody demon! He has been in control for centuries!'

Suddenly, there was a small tug on Klaus' sleeve. He looked down and saw toddler Kol staring up at him. Klaus threw his hands up in the air.

'This is bloody confusing! How many Kol's are there?'

'If you count little me, currently three.'

Teenage Kol crouched down in front of toddler Kol.

'I've seen you before in here. You're scared of that demon, aren't you?'

Toddler Kol nodded and looked at Klaus again.

'Have you found what you're looking for? 'Cause we need to go.'

'No, I have not found what I'm looking for. Apparently, I have to find vampire you.'

Teenage Kol's eyes widened in horror.

'I am a demon?!'

Klaus mentally hit himself. Just what he needed, a freaked out Kol.

'Look, you can think about that later. Right now, I need to find someone who can fix this bloody mess.'

'You're not going to find that here.'

The new voice made them all turn around. Vampire Kol was standing a few feet away from them, his eyes shining with anger. Klaus took on a defensive stance, not wanting vampire Kol to get the drop on him.

'Relax Nik, I'm not going to attack you. I was looking for human me and it seems I found him. Wasn't expecting to find you here, but it's fancy seeing you nonetheless. Now, I believe you have a certain predicament you need to take care of?'

This was the first time Klaus got a chance to truly observe the differences between human Kol and vampire Kol. The human Kol seemed far less dangerous and not just because he was a human. It was clear he wouldn't fight unless he deemed it necessary. Vampire Kol looked ready to kill, just for the fun of it.

Another difference was that human Kol still seemed innocent. Not as much as toddler Kol, but still. Vampire Kol had lost any trace of innocence a long time ago. A third difference was that human Kol seemed completely at ease in the presence of Klaus, while vampire Kol looked suspicious and guarded.

Klaus turned to vampire Kol and sighed.

'I assume that you are aware of the fact that you have been turned into a toddler?'

'Yes, that detail has not slipped from my attention. You lot must be thrilled. I'm much easier to ignore as a toddler, am I not? Or maybe, little me gets all the love that current me doesn't? It wouldn't surprise me, to be honest.'

Klaus rolled his eyes.

'Don't be so dramatic, Kol. I'm in your mind to find out how to turn you back. I was hoping human you could tell me that, but he says only you can.'

'If he means that I have more knowledge than he does, that is completely true. And I have heard of spells that can turn people into children. But what makes you think I would help you out?'

'Are you telling me that you want to stay a little boy? In case you don't know, you're not a miniature vampire.'

'If I'm correct, I have magic. That is way better than being a vampire. I would enjoy it more if toddler me wasn't controlling my mind.'

'Hang on!' Human Kol said. 'What happens to me and little me if you turn us back?'

Vampire Kol smirked.

'You go back where you belong. Little you/me goes back to memories, while you are locked away again. Like you have been for centuries.'

Klaus sighed exasperated.

'Would you cease fighting yourself! Can you turn yourself back or not?!'

'No!' said human Kol.

'Yes!' said vampire Kol.

'For God's sake, stop being so confusing! Little Kol, which one is lying?'

'The demon,' toddler Kol whispered.

'So, I'm wasting my time here. It would have been nice to know that from the start.'

With that, Klaus left Kol's mind.

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Kol woke up with a gasp when Klaus let go of him. Finn and Elijah immediately cornered Klaus, while Rebekah looked after her twin.

'What did you find out?'

'Other than that my trip was completely useless? Nothing, except for the fact that Kol's mind is a really weird place.'

Finn sighed.

'That means we will have to make a deal with the Salvatores and their friends.'

'Why? I mean, what's wrong with Kol being like this? He's much easier to handle than his normal self and he has really strong magic. We could use that, you know.'

'No!' Rebekah said. 'This whole de-aging this has made me realize how much we have failed our brother. I want to make up for my mistakes. I owe him that much.'

'I agree with Rebekah. We are a family and Kol is part of that. Even though he is not an easy person to deal with, we have to try.'

Rebekah smiled at Elijah, thankful for his support. Klaus stared at them.

'You are willing to leave Mystic Falls for good, just so we can turn Kol back? Is he really worth that much?'

Rebekah shot up and glared at Klaus, fire in her eyes.

'How could you say that?! He might be dying and you don't care? Are those stupid hybrids of yours so important that you would sacrifice our brother for it?!'

Klaus opened his mouth to react but was interrupted by a sob. They all turned towards Kol, who had curled into himself and was crying. He had crawled away from Finn and Elijah and had clamped his hands over his ears.

Rebekah got down on her knees and reached her arms out towards her twin.

'Kol, it's okay. I'm sorry if we scared you.'

The toddler looked up through his eyelashes, hurt evident in his gaze.

'Do you love me?'

'Of course we do! We've told you so before.'

'Not me! I mean your me. Demon me. Do you love your brother like you love me?'

The question made them hesitate for a moment. It was easy to say that they loved toddler Kol, but vampire Kol? None of them knew how to answer the question.

Kol wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.

'You don't,' the little boy concluded. 'I know he's scary, because he is a demon. But Nik is a demon too, isn't he?'

Rebekah sighed. This was really hard to explain and frankly, they didn't have time for this. She stared in surprise when Klaus kneeled in front of Kol and grasped the boy's arm gently.

'I know he's a demon, just like me. But like Elijah said, he is part of our family. And he belongs with us. Just like you belong with your family.'

Kol smiled in relief and nodded. Finn crouched next to Klaus.

'We have to make a deal with the Salvatores. They will change Kol back and we will leave Mystic Falls. I think it's time for us to move on anyway.'

 **A/N Was it any good? Am I allowed to ask for reviews?**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N Hello everyone! Yes, I am still alive. My sincerest apologies for making you wait so long for the next chapter. What makes it even worse is that I don't have a very good reason, unless you count a writer's block as one. Anyways, I wrote a new chapter because I really do intend to finish this story. Thank you to everyone who asked me to continue in their reviews, it did help. Well, I hope y'all enjoy this chapter!**

 **Disclaimer: I wish I owned the Vampire Diaries. Although I would probably focus too much on Kol.**

Chapter 12

Klaus walked into the kitchen and stopped when he noticed Kol sitting at the table. The boy was completely focused on the drawing he was making, not even noticing his older brother in the doorway. Suddenly, the toddler looked up and smiled at Klaus. He jumped of the chair, drawing in hand and walked over to the hybrid.

'Look, Nik, I made this for you. Do you like it?'

Klaus studied the drawing and smiled. Though it was clearly drawn by a child, the persons on the drawing were easy to recognize. All of their siblings were on the drawing, clearly a happy family.

'I like it, Kol. Can I keep it?'

'Yes, of course! I made it for you.'

He folded the drawing and put it in his pocket. He then proceeded to lift Kol up, to which the boy responded by laying his head on Klaus' shoulder. The complete and utter trust coming from the toddler made Klaus realize how long the road of fixing their family was going to be. Kol hadn't shown such trust for any of his siblings for centuries.

Klaus shook his head to clear away the thoughts and went into the hallway, where Rebekah was grabbing Kol's coat. When she noticed Klaus, she made to take Kol from his arms but the boy protested, clinging to his brother. Rebekah huffed while Klaus smiled in surprise. Together, they managed to put the coat on Kol, who insisted on hugging Klaus.

Outside, Finn and Elijah were standing by the car, waiting for their siblings. A few days had passed since they struck their deal with the Salvatores. Today was the day they were leaving Mystic Falls.

'Considering everything we have packed,' Finn said. 'I don't suppose we will come back anytime soon?'

'No, not anytime soon. Perhaps, one day, we will return, but for now we have more important matters to focus on. We have to fix our broken family, otherwise we will be our own downfall.'

Finn nodded.

'We cannot forget how different our Kol will be. None of us has a problem with the toddler version we've been dealing with for the last few weeks, but our Kol is an entirely different matter. We have to carefully choose our words when we speak to him.'

Rebekah appeared, Klaus close behind her. Elijah raised an eyebrow at Klaus when he noticed Kol in his arms. Klaus simply shrugged at him.

'We're ready to go. Bonnie Bennet is waiting for us outside of Mystic Falls. I put the coordinates in the GPS.'

During the drive, silence reigned the car. Each of the Mikaelson siblings, sans Kol, was trying to figure out what they would do once Kol had been turned back to normal. Elijah looked at Kol through the rear-view mirror and smiled when the child met his eyes. Suddenly, he was remembered of the past.

 **Flashback:**

Elijah looked around the room proudly. Mother had left him in charge of his younger siblings, while she went to visit one of her friends. Father was hunting with some of the other warriors and Finn was with a girl he liked. So that left Elijah as the one to look after his siblings, something he did not mind at all.

He had just gotten the fire going when Rebekah ran into the room. She was squealing with laughter and dove behind him.

'Help me, Elijah! The monstew is twying to catch me!'

Right after that, Kol came running into the room, Klaus hot on his heels. Both were laughing and had red faces. Before Kol could hide behind Elijah as well, Klaus tackled him.

'No!' Kol squealed. 'Save me, 'Lijah!'

Klaus growled playfully and started to tickle Kol.

'Elijah cannot save you. I am too strong.'

When she noticed her twin had been captured, Rebekah pulled on Elijah's leg. He smiled and looked down at his sister.

'You have to help him. The monstew is towtuwing Kol.'

'Don't worry, Rebekah. I will save our brother from the monster. I'm stronger than him.'

With that, he stalked forward and started to tickle Klaus. The ten-year old couldn't contain his giggles and tried to get away from the older brother.

'Stop it, Elijah! Th-that is not fair!'

Eventually, Klaus fell to the side, giving Kol the opportunity to escape. Elijah wrestled Klaus on his back and gently pushed his arms to the ground.

'Do you surrender, monster?'

'Yes!' Klaus laughed. 'I surrender. Now stop tickling me!'

Elijah grinned at his brother and let go of him. Klaus sat up and looked over at the twins, who were smiling victoriously at him. He made a face at them, sending the three-year olds into fits of laughter.

'Alright,' Elijah said. 'Kol, Rebekah, it's time for bed.'

He was met with appalled faces and indignant sounds. Rebekah crossed her arms and stomped her foot.

'I don't wanna sleep! I wanna play!'

Klaus laughed and scooped her up, making her gasp.

'Do not worry, sister. I will tell you a story before you go to sleep.'

Rebekah pondered on it for a moment, giving Klaus the opportunity to carry her to the other room, where their big bed was. Kol decided that protesting wasn't going to work, so he decided to make a run for it. Elijah had been expecting this though, and grabbed the back of the toddler's tunic.

'Running isn't going to work, brother. You are going to sleep, whether you want it or not.'

Kol, unexpectedly, squirmed out of his tunic and dove between Elijah's legs, trying to get away. Unfortunately, he didn't notice Elijah's wooden sword laying on the ground and his foot got caught on it. Kol hit the ground with a big crash and a horrific scream tore through the cottage. Elijah shot towards his brother and paled when he saw what had caused the scream. When he fell, Kol's arm landed partly in the fire, burning the poor boy.

Klaus and Rebekah stormed into the room, the latter screaming when she saw her twin's arm in the fire. Klaus grabbed the wooden bucket that was filled with water, while Elijah yanked Kol away from the fire. Klaus handed the bucket to his older brother, his face turning white when he saw the burn on Kol's arm. Elijah pushed Kol's arm in the water, motioning for Klaus to hold their little brother, who was thrashing and screaming.

'Kol, you must calm down.'

'Huwts, 'Lijah.'

'I know it hurts, but this must be done.'

Suddenly, Finn and their Mother stormed into the cottage. Esther gasped when she saw her youngest son and quickly made her way over to him. Klaus stepped aside, walking over to Rebekah to calm her down.

'What happened?'

Elijah looked up at his mother, guilt evident in his eyes.

'He tripped and his arm landed in the fire. I'm so sorry, Mother.'

Esther gathered her crying son in her arms and took his burned arm from Elijah, all the while comforting the toddler. After a long time, she gently pulled the arm from the water. Kol whimpered and tears filled his eyes again.

'Hush, my boy. Mother is going to take care of you, there's no need to cry. Finn, hand me that jar on the table.'

Finn did as told and Esther opened the jar, revealing a thick ointment. She gently applied the cream on the burn, whispering words of comfort as Kol whimpered. When she was done, she stood up and carried the toddler into the other room, gently placing him on the bed.

The other children, sans Finn, were already there. Elijah bit his lip in guilt as he looked at Kol's burn. It was all his fault, if only he hadn't left his sword on the ground. Klaus and Rebekah had already crawled under the covers and Esther put Kol under them as well, before going back to the other room.

As soon as she had left, Kol crawled out from under the covers and into Elijah's lap.

'I'm sowwy, 'Lijah.'

'It's me who should be sorry, Kol. You tripped over my sword.'

Kol shrugged.

'I should have listened.'

'It's my fault you got burned. How can you ever trust me again?'

'We awe bwothews. I will always twust you. Pwomise.'

 **End of flashback**

Elijah sighed. It had been a second-degree burn and it had a left a scar on Kol's arm. He had felt guilty for weeks, though Kol had never blamed him. For weeks, he had felt like he didn't deserve Kol's trust. For Kol it had been simple, though. They were brothers, so he would always trust Elijah.

If only that trust had maintained through all these years. Ever since they had become vampires, Kol had trusted him less and less. The trust had completely disappeared when Elijah and Klaus daggered him for the first time. They all had shattered Kol's trust in his family years ago. But, as he glanced at Kol again, they had the opportunity to make it up to him. And they would.

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After a 45 minute drive, they arrived at a small wooden building. Rebekah scowled at it.

'This is where they want to turn Kol back? It looks like it would collapse if you just breathe against it.'

Elijah sighed.

'It doesn't matter, as long as they turn our brother back.'

They all got out of the car, Kol clinging heavily to Klaus. There was a small hint of fear in his eyes, causing Klaus to rub his back comfortingly. When they entered the building, they were met by Bonnie and the Salvatore brothers. Damon and Stefan both had a stake in their hand, forcing Klaus to hold back a smile. If only they knew those stakes wouldn't work at all.

'Took you long enough,' Damon snarled.

Bonnie nudged Damon and stepped forward.

'Everything is ready, I just need Kol to perform the spell.'

Klaus nodded but when he made to put his brother down, the child clung to him tighter and snivelled.

'I'm scared, Nik. I don't want her to do magic on me.'

Klaus looked at Rebekah, asking her silently for help. She gently took Kol from him, rubbing his back.

'Oh, come on!' Damon exclaimed. 'We don't have time for this.'

'Shut up,' Klaus said. 'If you want us to leave Mystic Falls forever, you shut up now.'

Kol looked up at Rebekah, his eyes now wide with fear. Tears were streaming down his face and he had a death grip on Rebekah's coat.

'Sing me to sleep?'

It was a request Kol had never given her before. Or at least, not that she could remember. She hesitated for a moment, but the fear in Kol's eyes quenched all her doubts.

' _Lay down your head and I'll sing you a lullaby. Back to the years of loo-li lai-lay. And I'll sing you to sleep and I'll sing you tomorrow. Bless you with love for the road that you go. May there always be_ family _to watch over you. To guide you each step of the way. To guide you and keep you safe from all harm. Loo-li loo-li lai-lay._ '

During the lullaby, Kol's eyes began to droop. When she finished, his head was resting on her shoulder and she could feel the steady rise and fall of his chest. She nodded at Bonnie, who led her to a circle of candles.

'Lay him in the middle and then step back.'

Rebekah did as she was told and went to stand by her other brothers. Bonnie raised her hands and the candles lit up. Closing her eyes, she started to chant.

' _Ut novis epistolis mutatio creata est_. _Creatum spiritum suum pristinum revertatur. Ut novis epistolis mutatio creata est._ '

The flames of the candles blazed as Bonnie's chanting grew louder. Suddenly, a white flash blinded them all, while an invisible force knocked them to the ground.

As soon as they could move, Klaus and Rebekah jumped up and flashed over to the circle of candles. Kol was laying on his back in the middle of it, looking like his normal self again. His eyes were closed but his chest was steadily rising and falling. Rebekah sighed in relief when she noticed that the clothes toddler Kol had been wearing, had grown with Kol, so they now fitted him perfectly. They had packed some spare clothes for him, of course, but she was happy that her brother wasn't naked. That was not something she wished to see.

Klaus shook Kol's shoulder, trying to wake him up. It didn't woke so he shook harder. Rebekah slapped his hands away.

'That's not going to work, you bloody idiot! He's unconscious.'

Finn and Elijah appeared beside them.

'We should leave now. They turned our brother back, now we have to keep our part of the deal.'

Klaus nodded and went ahead with Finn to start the car. Elijah gently put his arms under Kol's knees and shoulders and lifted him up. The younger brother's head lolled against Elijah's chest. With great care, Elijah carried his brother to the car, Rebekah opening the door for him so he could he manoeuvre Kol inside. Once the boy was in the car, Rebekah and Elijah got in as well.

'I booked a hotel for us, Niklaus. We can stay there until we have figured everything out with Kol.'

Rebekah stared out of the window sighed. Making up with Kol was going to be a great battle, she could tell now. She just hoped they would succeed. 

**A/N Was it worth the wait? Please let me know, reviews are fuel for this story. The next chapter will be the last one, just so you know.  
Important information: The lullaby Rebekah sang is an actual song. It's called **Sleepsong **and it's from the amazing** Secret Garden **. I changed one word in the lyrics, I made it family instead of angels because I thought it more fitting. I made up the spell Bonnie used, just translated the English to Latin. Forgive the mistakes, it has been two years since my last Latin lesson.**


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